janitor

[ jan-i-ter ]

/ ˈdʒæn ɪ tər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR janitor ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person employed in an apartment house, office building, school, etc., to clean the public areas, remove garbage, and do minor repairs; caretaker.

Archaic. a doorkeeper or porter.

verb (used without object)

to be employed as a janitor.

Words nearby janitor

janiform, janina, janine, janissary, janissary music, janitor, janitress, janjaweed, jannings, jannock, janny

Origin of janitor

1575–85; < Latin jānitor doorkeeper, equivalent to jāni- (combining form of jānus doorway, covered passage) + -tor -tor

OTHER WORDS FROM janitor

jan·i·to·ri·al

[jan-i-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-] /ˌdʒæn ɪˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-/, adjectiveun·der·jan·i·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for janitor

Everybody from Bill Gates to his janitor wants the economy to grow.
What Obama Can Learn From Elizabeth Warren|Michael Tomasky|December 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He admits to us that most of the time he is more of a janitor than a brewmaster.
Look Out! There’s a Craft-Beer Revolution Taking Over France|Jeff Campagna|December 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As a janitor working in a cleaning service, he claimed to have insider information.
The Mississippi Man Caught Mailing Ricin-Letters is an Elvis Impersonator|Justin Green|April 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His father ran a janitorial business and Tucker would help out by working as a janitor as the local Burger King.
Chris Tucker’s Journey From Tax Problems to ‘Silver Linings Playbook’|Marlow Stern|November 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Husband has his M.S. in Geotechnical Engineering(Graduated with honors), $30,000 in school debt and works as a janitor.
Millennials Report From the Trenches: High Loans, Low Pay, Few Jobs|Sam Schlinkert|July 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The janitor took me to the recitation hall, opened the door, and left me.
All the Days of My Life: An Autobiography|Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
I will, said the janitor, delighted that he had at last found an earnest listener.
Jack Ranger's Gun Club|Clarence Young
He says th' more he practises medicine th' more he becomes a janitor with a knowledge iv cookin'.
Mr. Dooley Says|Finley Dunne
He had got so far, when back again came the scene that had met his eyes when he entered the Club rooms with the janitor.
A Boy Knight|Martin J. (Martin Jerome) Scott
He is the service department, the finance department and everything but the janitor.
Fundamentals of Prosperity|Roger W. Babson

British Dictionary definitions for janitor

janitor

/ (ˈdʒænɪtə) /

noun

Scot, US and Canadian the caretaker of a building, esp a school

mainly US and Canadian a person employed to clean and maintain a building, esp the public areas in a block of flats or office building; porter

Derived forms of janitor

janitorial (ˌdʒænɪˈtɔːrɪəl), adjectivejanitress, fem n

Word Origin for janitor

C17: from Latin: doorkeeper, from jānua door, entrance, from jānus covered way (compare Janus 1); related to Latin īre to go

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

janitor

noun

verb (used without object)

Words related to janitor

Words nearby janitor

Origin of janitor

OTHER WORDS FROM janitor

Examples from the Web for janitor

British Dictionary definitions for janitor

noun

Derived forms of janitor

Word Origin for janitor