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 That agreement is common for buying and selling sites that are potentially contaminated with hazardous substances, like a former industrial laundry. The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024 The building offered basement storage, free laundry and a furnished roof deck. Joyce Cohen, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The laundry from a houseful of people, food and drink bills, the cleanup. Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 Bed bugs will lay eggs in dirty clothing, so wash and dry your laundry on the hottest temperature setting when returning from a trip. John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 Or using a mudroom/laundry room to include more storage solutions. Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2024 Two rooms in the converted student dormitory hang with drying laundry and are stuffed with cooking tools, a TV, and whatever else could be brought from home. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Mar. 2024 The most obvious way to prevent musty smells from attacking your clothes is to stay on top of your laundry. Tamara Gane, Southern Living, 27 Feb. 2024 Add to that list the thrill of discovering the luxury of drop-off laundry. Darryn King, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024

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 29 Mar. 2024.

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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