dry cleaner
Americannoun
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a business that dry-cleans garments, draperies, etc.
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a person who owns or operates such an establishment.
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a liquid solvent used in dry cleaning.
Etymology
Origin of dry cleaner
First recorded in 1895–1900
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.
This leaves smaller companies — say, a restaurant or a dry cleaner.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026
Be especially cautious if you live in a building above a dry cleaner.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025
A dry cleaner has said businesses just 10 miles away can charge a quarter of the price for services due to differing energy prices between regions.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2025
Then, they laundered the dyed strips at a dry cleaner, took them back to the community center, sat down at their sewing machines, and pieced the fabric together into 60-foot stripes.
From Slate • Jun. 19, 2024
I loved the pile of pretty dresses, each wrapped in a plastic bag like the kind you get from the dry cleaner.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.