janitor

American  

[jan-i-ter] / ˈdʒæn ɪ tər /

noun

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

2. Archaic. a doorkeeper or porter.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be employed as a janitor.

janitor British  

/ ˌdʒænɪˈtɔːrɪəl, ˈdʒænɪtə /

noun

1. the caretaker of a building, esp a school

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

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Other Word Forms

• janitorial adjective
• janitress noun
• underjanitor noun

Etymology

Origin of janitor

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin jānitor “doorkeeper,” equivalent to jāni- (combining form of jānus “doorway, covered passage”) + -tor -tor

Compare meaning

How does janitor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• custodian vs. janitor

Example Sentences

It would mean more than 60,000 essential district workers — teachers, counselors, nurses, bus drivers, janitors and cafeteria workers — would walk off the job.

From Los Angeles Times

It would mean more than 60,000 essential district workers — teachers, counselors, nurses, bus drivers, janitors and cafeteria workers — would walk off the job, crippling school operations.

From Los Angeles Times

I used to be a janitor, and I used to move furniture, so podcasting and stand-up is not so bad when you talk about having a job.

From Los Angeles Times

The janitor scraped the desk along the floor between the first and second rows.

From Literature

The janitor held out a green bottle to Jonah.

From Literature

Related Words

• attendant
• custodian
• sitter
• superintendent