janitor
Americannoun
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janitors
plural
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a person employed in an apartment house, office building, school, etc., to clean the public areas, remove garbage, and do minor repairs; caretaker.
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Archaic. a doorkeeper or porter.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the caretaker of a building, esp a school
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a person employed to clean and maintain a building, esp the public areas in a block of flats or office building; porter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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:
Explanation
A janitor is someone whose job is cleaning and maintaining a building. If your school always looks clean and orderly, be sure to thank the janitor. Another name for a janitor is a custodian, or in Britain, a caretaker. This job involves cleaning and caring for a school, hospital, apartment building, or workplace. Janitors may be responsible for cleaning bathrooms, hallways, and other common areas. Sometimes janitors will also sweep sidewalks, shovel snow, or do other outdoor maintenance. In the 16th century, a janitor was a "doorkeeper," from the Latin ianitor, "doorkeeper or porter," and the root ianua, "door."
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.
See Examples For:
I think I've had one interview for a janitor role.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
The company hires people for roles like janitor, maintenance worker and in other trades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Charley finds direction when a neighborhood janitor invites him into a pickup game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Once freed from slavery, Washington toiled in coal mines, worked as a janitor in exchange for formal education and became a great American orator and leader of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2025
“Imogene just said he did. Nobody buried the snake. The janitor threw it in the trash masher. I saw him.”
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
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 ● Mar. 18, 2026
In one videotaped speech during a high school student government campaign, he complains of being told to pick up his trash, saying that should be the work of paid janitors.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026
A museum guard stood outside the bathroom, and janitors cleaned the piece every 15 minutes or so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
ICE agents I’ve spoken with say they have arrested or detained office workers, janitors, dishwashers, gardeners, and day laborers and raided Home Depots.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2025
Alpharetta employers say that the $250,000 starting point for a detached, single-family house freezes out their secretaries and technicians, janitors and truck drivers, cashiers and data clerks.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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