laundress

UK: /ˈlɔːndrɪs/ US: /ˈlɔndrɪs, ˈlɑn-/ ,(lôn′dris, län′-)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

laun•dress  (lôn′dris, län′-), n. 

1. Pronouns a woman whose work is the washing and ironing of clothes, linens, etc.

• obsolete launder launderer (see launder) + -ess 1540–50

Usage

See -ess. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

laundress / ˈlɔːndrɪs/ noun

1. a woman who launders clothes, sheets, etc, for a living

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.