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.
Those costs include $25 a month for a phone plan, $20 a month for laundry and $30 a month on athletic and school events. — Adrienne Roberts, Freep.com, 28 Aug. 2026 The 72-year-old added that his wife sent him to the store to buy some essentials, including batteries, butter, paper towels, and OxiClean laundry spray, and O’Leary didn’t want to waste the opportunity. — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026 At least two small businesses are offering free laundry options in Gary on Friday and Saturday, while the American Red Cross clarified that city residents can use the free laundry trailer at Hudson Campbell Fitness Center. — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026 What reader wouldn’t want to set aside just a couple of hours on a rainy afternoon to sink themselves into a good story with time leftover to get to the gym, to do laundry, to make dinner? — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 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 1 Sep. 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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