launder

American  

[lawn-der, lahn-] / ˈlɔn dər, ˈlɑn- /

verb (used with object)

• launders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• laundered,
  past participle,  past
• laundering
  present participle

1. to wash (clothes, linens, etc.).

2. to wash and iron (clothes).

3. Informal.

   1. to disguise the source of (illegal or secret funds or profits), usually by transmittal through a foreign bank or a complex network of intermediaries.

   2. to disguise the true nature of (a transaction, operation, or the like) by routing money or goods through one or more intermediaries.

4. to remove embarrassing or unpleasant characteristics or elements from in order to make more acceptable.

   He'll have to launder his image if he wants to run for office.

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verb (used without object)

• launders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• laundered,
  past participle,  past
• laundering
  present participle

1. to wash laundry.

2. to undergo washing and ironing.

   The shirt didn't launder well.

noun

1. (in ore dressing) a passage carrying products of intermediate grade and residue in water suspension.

2. Metallurgy. a channel for conveying molten steel to a ladle.

launder British  

/ ˈlɔːndə /

verb

1. to wash, sometimes starch, and often also iron (clothes, linen, etc)

2. (intr) to be capable of being laundered without shrinking, fading, etc

3. (tr) to process (something acquired illegally) to make it appear respectable, esp to process illegally acquired funds through a legitimate business or to send them to a foreign bank for subsequent transfer to a home bank

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noun

1. a water trough, esp one used for washing ore in mining

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• launderability
  noun
• launderer
  noun
• relaunder
  verb (used with object)
• launderable
  adjective
• unlaundered
  adjective
• well-laundered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• laundering
  present
• laundered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• launder
  simple
• launders
  simple
• have laundered
  perfect
• has laundered
  perfect
• am laundering
  progressive
• are laundering
  progressive
• is laundering
  progressive
• have been laundering
  perfect progressive
• has been laundering
  perfect progressive

Past

• laundered
  simple
• had laundered
  perfect
• was laundering
  progressive
• were laundering
  progressive
• had been laundering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will launder
  simple
• will have laundered
  perfect
• will be laundering
  progressive
• will have been laundering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of launder

1300–50; 1970–75 launder for def. 3; Middle English: launderer, syncopated variant of lavandere, lavendere washer of linen < Middle French lavandier ( e ) < Medieval Latin lavandārius (masculine), lavandāria (feminine), equivalent to Latin lavand- (gerund stem of lavāre to wash) + -ārius, -āria -ary; see -er ²)

Explanation

To launder is to wash your clothes or other things made from cloth, like sheets and towels. A college student might try to wait to launder her clothes until she goes home for Thanksgiving. When you launder, you wash a load of laundry, or dirty clothes. These days most of us use a washing machine to launder, adding detergent to the water and then tossing the wet things in the dryer after they're clean. Another meaning of launder is "hide the origins of illegal money," or "make dirty money look clean," which is usually done by making it appear that the money was earned through a legitimate business.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

launder launders laundered laundering

Shell companies are dangerous because they are used both by criminal organizations to evade sanctions and launder money and by the rich to avoid taxes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

North Korea steals crypto to generate funds for the regime, and deploys its own bankers globally to launder ill-gotten gains, U.S. officials say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

The move has been accompanied by some rollbacks of post-coup curbs and prisoner amnesties, which analysts have likewise dismissed as lip-service measures to launder the leadership's reputation.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

To flush the toilet, launder clothing, wash dishes or bathe, residents were forces to haul water by hand from wells.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025

“And launder, too, my wife. But for cooking and washing you will have help.”

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also designated three leaders and supporters of an Iran-aligned militia in Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah, as well as a business that it says moves and launders funds for the organization.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

“Today, Treasury is sanctioning Tornado Cash, a virtual currency mixer that launders the proceeds of cybercrimes, including those committed against victims in the United States,” Nelson said.

From The Verge ● Aug. 8, 2022

Bethany launders them in-house and places them in a tub in the entryway, for workers to don each day after taking their temperature and passing a screening.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 3, 2020

He launders impropriety with a functionary’s demeanor and a spin doctor’s acumen.

From Slate ● May 2, 2019

Excellent crystals, usually of a brownish colour arranged in groups, are often found in the brine-chambers and the launders used in salt-works.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various

One victim in Missouri reportedly lost more than $16 million, while millions of dollars in suspected scam proceeds were allegedly laundered through cryptocurrency.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

Operation Jackal IV - which took place between November 2025 and June 2026 - investigated how the groups laundered money and how financial fraud cyber crimes, such as cryptocurrency and email compromise fraud, were conducted.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

He also represented Alex Saab, who American prosecutors said laundered money for Venezuela’s former strongman, Nicolás Maduro, and oversaw the importation of often-rotten food to a poverty-stricken country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

Danicley de Aguiar, coordinator of Greenpeace Brazil's Indigenous Peoples' campaign told AFP that gold taken from protected areas was likely laundered through such schemes.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

Ophie nodded and quickly stripped the bed, separating the sheets and blankets out just like Cook had shown her so they could be laundered later.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

They noted Betancourt, who has never been charged with a crime, has “faced multiple investigations for money laundering in Spain, Switzerland and the United States.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Mexican authorities are stepping up their fight against cartel money laundering following pressure from the U.S. and other international authorities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

“It gives a more salacious nature to what was originally just a money laundering conspiracy case,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Alex Saab, a former Venezuelan minister and close ally of ousted president Nicolas Maduro, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to money laundering under a deal with US prosecutors, court filings showed.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

The CDO was, in effect, a credit laundering service for the residents of Lower Middle Class America.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis