launder

[ lawn-der, lahn- ]
See synonyms for: launderlaunderedlaunderinglaunderable on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to wash (clothes, linens, etc.).

  2. to wash and iron (clothes).

  1. Informal.

    • 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.

  2. 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.

verb (used without object)
  1. to wash laundry.

  2. to undergo washing and ironing: The shirt didn't launder well.

noun
  1. (in ore dressing) a passage carrying products of intermediate grade and residue in water suspension.

  2. Metallurgy. a channel for conveying molten steel to a ladle.

Origin of launder

1
1300–50; 1970–75 for def. 3; Middle English: launderer, syncopated variant of lavandere, lavendere washer of linen <Middle French lavandier(e) <Medieval Latin lavandārius (masculine), lavandāria (feminine), equivalent to Latin lavand- (gerund stem of lavāre to wash) + -ārius, -āria-ary; see -er2)

Other words from launder

  • laun·der·a·ble, adjective
  • laun·der·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • laun·der·er, noun
  • re·laun·der, verb (used with object)
  • un·laun·dered, adjective
  • well-laundered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use launder in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for launder

launder

/ (ˈlɔːndə) /


verb
  1. to wash, sometimes starch, and often also iron (clothes, linen, etc)

  2. (intr) to be capable of being laundered without shrinking, fading, etc

  1. (tr) 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

noun
  1. a water trough, esp one used for washing ore in mining

Origin of launder

1
C14 (n, meaning: a person who washes linen): changed from lavender washerwoman, from Old French lavandiere, ultimately from Latin lavāre to wash

Derived forms of launder

  • launderer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012