laundry

noun

laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē 

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

Folks swear by it for everything from wiping down kitchen counters to freshening up laundry, but despite its many uses, apple cider vinegar isn’t the miracle cleaner for everything. —Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025

Several factors can impact the effectiveness of dryer balls, including the material they’re made of and the frequency of laundry in your household. —Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Oct. 2025

Kazakevich, meanwhile, allegedly met with undercover ATF and DEA agents at Akopov’s behest, bringing him onto his boat and later to a nearby laundry room for gun deals, prosecutors say. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025

Sorting laundry Another test involved Apptronik’s humanoid, Apollo, sorting laundry. —Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing laundry

• air one's dirty laundry
• dirty laundry
• do the/one's laundry
• laundry list
• load of laundry

Kids Definition

laundry

noun

laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē 

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