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

That's one or two full baskets of laundry (but not overflowing). —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 Aug. 2025

Sure, there are obvious tasks like unpacking, doing laundry, and stocking up on groceries, but there are many more that are less apparent. —Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Aug. 2025

Spin works with nonprofits to offer vouchers for free laundry. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 26 July 2025

The hugging may be a personality quirk, but not doing laundry for a month suggests that there is a problem in her life — economic, emotional, mental or logistical — that’s keeping her from maintaining healthy habits. —R. Eric Thomas, Denver Post, 20 July 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