launder

UK: /ˈlɔːndə^r/ US: /ˈlɔndɚ, ˈlɑn-/ ,(lôn′dər, län′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

laun•der /ˈlɔndɚ, ˈlɑn-/   v. 

1. to wash (clothes, linens, etc.); to wash and iron (clothes): [~ + object]
   She laundered the sheets.
   [no object]
   He spent the whole day laundering.
2. to undergo washing and ironing:
   [no object] The shirt didn't launder well.
3. Informal Terms [~ + object]
   • to disguise the source of (illegal or secret funds or profits), as by sending through a foreign bank.

laun•der•er, n. [countable]
laun•dress /ˈlɔndrɪs, ˈlɑn-/  n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

laun•der  (lôn′dər, län′-), v.t. 

1. to wash (clothes, linens, etc.).
2. to wash and iron (clothes).
3. Informal Terms
   • to disguise the source of (illegal or secret funds or profits), usually by transmittal through a foreign bank or a complex network of intermediaries.
   • to disguise the true nature of (a transaction, operation, or the like) by routing money or goods through one or more intermediaries.
4. to remove embarrassing or unpleasant characteristics or elements from in order to make more acceptable:
   He'll have to launder his image if he wants to run for office.

v.i. 

5. to wash laundry.
6. to undergo washing and ironing:
   The shirt didn't launder well.

n. 

7. Metallurgy (in ore dressing) a passage carrying products of intermediate grade and residue in water suspension.
8. Metallurgy a channel for conveying molten steel to a ladle.

• Medieval Latin lavandārius (masculine), lavandāria (feminine), equivalent. to Latin lavand- (gerund, gerundive stem of lavāre to wash) + -ārius, -āria -ary; see -er²)
• Middle French lavandier(e)
• 1300–50; 1970–75 for def. 3; Middle English: launderer, syncopated variant of lavandere, lavendere washer of linen

laun′der•a•ble, adj. 
laun′der•a•bil′i•ty, n. 
laun′der•er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

launder / ˈlɔːndə/ verb

1. to wash, sometimes starch, and often also iron (clothes, linen, etc)
2. (intransitive) to be capable of being laundered without shrinking, fading, etc
3. (transitive) to process (something acquired illegally) to make it appear respectable, esp to process illegally acquired funds through a legitimate business or to send them to a foreign bank for subsequent transfer to a home bank

Etymology: 14th Century (n, meaning: a person who washes linen): changed from lavender washerwoman, from Old French lavandiere, ultimately from Latin lavāre to wash

ˈlaunderer noun