janitor

[jan-i-ter]

SEE MORE 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.

Origin of janitor

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

Related formsjan·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. 2019

Related Words for janitor

custodian, attendant, superintendent, sitter, gatekeeper, caretaker, concierge, super, porter, sweeper, doorkeeper

Examples from the Web for janitor

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of janitor

When accidentally struck by the janitor's broom, he gives off a cloud of dust.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
The janitor was still there on guard, but the body of the dead monkey had been removed.
The Film of Fear
Arnold Fredericks
Yes, I gave the janitor the gold piece for finding your pet cane.
The Gorgeous Girl
Nalbro Bartley
It doesn't do any good to scold the janitor about our cold rooms.
The New Pun Book
Thomas A. Brown and Thomas Joseph Carey
They called the janitor and expostulated volubly, but all to no effect.
A Woman for Mayor
Helen M. Winslow

British Dictionary definitions for janitor

janitor

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 Formsjanitorial (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

Word Origin and History for janitor

1580s, "an usher in a school," later "doorkeeper" (1620s), from Latin ianitor "doorkeeper, porter," from ianua "door, entrance, gate," from ianus "arched passageway, arcade" (see Janus) + agent suffix -tor. Meaning "caretaker of a building" first recorded 1708.