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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First, there was serious competition from the commercial laundry industry. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 19 Oct. 2026 Properly sorting laundry saves energy, lowers utility costs, and extends the life of your clothing. — Maria Sabella, The Spruce, 16 Oct. 2026 Sarah sorts and starts the laundry in the building’s basement laundry room. — Anne Kadet, Curbed, 14 Oct. 2026 Inside, Kaylee is eager to prove herself by really learning laundry and nailing it; Fraser advises her to come up with a system and stick to it. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for laundry

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of laundry was in 1577

Phrases Containing laundry

Browse Nearby Words

Laundromat
laundry
laundry list
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Laundry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laundry. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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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

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