janitor
Americannoun
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janitors
plural
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a person employed in an apartment house, office building, school, etc., to clean the public areas, remove garbage, and do minor repairs; caretaker.
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Archaic. a doorkeeper or porter.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the caretaker of a building, esp a school
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a person employed to clean and maintain a building, esp the public areas in a block of flats or office building; porter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of janitor
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin jānitor “doorkeeper,” equivalent to jāni- (combining form of jānus “doorway, covered passage”) + -tor -tor
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Explanation
A janitor is someone whose job is cleaning and maintaining a building. If your school always looks clean and orderly, be sure to thank the janitor. Another name for a janitor is a custodian, or in Britain, a caretaker. This job involves cleaning and caring for a school, hospital, apartment building, or workplace. Janitors may be responsible for cleaning bathrooms, hallways, and other common areas. Sometimes janitors will also sweep sidewalks, shovel snow, or do other outdoor maintenance. In the 16th century, a janitor was a "doorkeeper," from the Latin ianitor, "doorkeeper or porter," and the root ianua, "door."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Since its international release, the Galashiels janitor said hundreds of sufferers and supporters from around the world have contacted him.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Laura Esquivel, a janitor at Los Angeles International Airport, expressed frustration that council members were not standing by their earlier commitment.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
The company hires people for roles like janitor, maintenance worker and in other trades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Charley finds direction when a neighborhood janitor invites him into a pickup game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Is that what they call the janitor at your fancy new school?
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
It would mean 60,000+ district workers — teachers, counselors, nurses, bus drivers, janitors and cafeteria workers — would walk out, crippling school operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
In one videotaped speech during a high school student government campaign, he complains of being told to pick up his trash, saying that should be the work of paid janitors.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026
A museum guard stood outside the bathroom, and janitors cleaned the piece every 15 minutes or so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Marty comes of age in the Hill Valley of 1985, where vandals have shellacked the high school with so much graffiti that the janitors seem to have given up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
Colored men found jobs as carpenters, brickmasons, janitors, shoeshiners, handymen, and yard workers.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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