launder

American  

[lawn-der, lahn-] / ˈlɔn dər, ˈlɑn- /

verb (used with object)

1. to wash (clothes, linens, etc.).

2. to wash and iron (clothes).

3. Informal.

   1. to disguise the source of (illegal or secret funds or profits), usually by transmittal through a foreign bank or a complex network of intermediaries.

   2. 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.

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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.

launder British  

/ 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

3. (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

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noun

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

Other Word Forms

• launderability
  noun
• launderable
  adjective
• launderer
  noun
• relaunder
  verb (used with object)
• unlaundered
  adjective
• well-laundered
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of launder

1300–50; 1970–75 launder 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 -er ²)

Explanation

To launder is to wash your clothes or other things made from cloth, like sheets and towels. A college student might try to wait to launder her clothes until she goes home for Thanksgiving. When you launder, you wash a load of laundry, or dirty clothes. These days most of us use a washing machine to launder, adding detergent to the water and then tossing the wet things in the dryer after they're clean. Another meaning of launder is "hide the origins of illegal money," or "make dirty money look clean," which is usually done by making it appear that the money was earned through a legitimate business.

Example Sentences

Mollison references SaGa Launder Bar and Cafe, a former Chicago laundromat with a bar inside, and reminisces about attending small raves inside laundromats in the ’90s in London.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2024

“Keep your home clean. Vacuum regularly, especially if you have furry or feathered pets. Launder pet bedding and pillows regularly.”

From Slate • Aug. 15, 2018

Launder and Gilliat invented a national language for Banrika and a decade later were to do the same for their own espionage picture, State Secret.

From The Guardian • Jul. 24, 2012

Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's screenplay has some nice switchbacks, and Reed keeps the pace bubbling, especially by period standards.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2010

And, Jenny, woman, dinna let your quarrel wi' Maggie Launder come between you and honest sleep.

From Scottish sketches by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston