laundry

noun

laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē How to pronounce laundry (audio)
ˈlän-
plural laundries
1
a
: a room for doing the family wash
b
: a commercial laundering establishment
2
: clothes or linens that have been or are to be laundered

Examples of laundry in a Sentence

There's a pile of dirty laundry in the laundry basket. The patients' sheets are sent regularly to the hospital laundry.
Recent Examples on the Web Jijo unpacked my suitcase, handled my laundry and my airport transfer, routinely surprised me with an afternoon iced tea, and accompanied me to the IT office when my Wi-Fi went out. Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2023 Smart capabilities such as Amazon Alexa compatibility impressed us during testing, allowing the user to control the laundry from a distance. Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Sep. 2023 Do this in every room - dishes out of the sink, toys off the ground, that mountain of clean laundry folded. Hannah Holland, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Sep. 2023 Do this in every room — dishes out of the sink, toys off the ground, that mountain of clean laundry folded. Hannah Holland, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2023 Lafayette Laundromat, the largest laundromat in Detroit, is allowing anyone in need of laundry services to come in and do their laundry for free on Tuesday, Aug. 22. Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, 21 Aug. 2023 His grandfather worked a job doing laundry at a hospital and sent money back to his family in his home country. Jessica Cheung, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2023 On that first day in Music City, 18-year-old Dolly was doing her laundry at the Wishy Washy laundromat when Carl Dean, 21, drove by in his white Chevy pickup truck. Maria Carter, Country Living, 30 Aug. 2023 Some cleaners will wash dirty dishes or do laundry, whereas others consider those to be add-ons. Rachel Kurzius, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laundry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of laundry was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near laundry

Cite this Entry

“Laundry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laundry. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

laundry

noun
laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē How to pronounce laundry (audio)
ˈlän-
plural laundries
1
: clothes or linens that have been or are to be laundered
2
: a place where laundering is done
Etymology

from an obsolete word launder (noun) "one who washes clothes," derived from early French lavandier (or lavandiere) "a man (or woman) who washes clothes," from Latin lavandus "needing to be washed," from lavare "to wash" — related to lavatory, lavish, lotion

More from Merriam-Webster on laundry

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