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dry cleaning

American  

noun

  1. the cleaning of garments, fabrics, draperies, etc., with any of various chemicals rather than water.

  2. garments for cleaning in this way.

Other Word Forms

  • dry-cleaning adjective

Etymology

Origin of dry cleaning

First recorded in 1810–20

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.

Hotel irons are sketchy and hotel dry cleaning is expensive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Most Silicon Valley companies at the time lavished their top engineering talent with free lunches, on-site dry cleaning, nap pods and other luxury amenities.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

Across the street, Hajji watched from his empty dry cleaning shop as the road cleared.

From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026

Prices for personal services, such as dry cleaning and haircuts, rose 1.6%.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

I think she even dated the editor for a while, but he ended up marrying the girl who did his dry cleaning.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

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.