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  • launderette
    launderette
    noun
    a self-service laundry having coin-operated washers, driers, etc.
  • Launderette
    Launderette
    noun
    a commercial establishment where clothes can be washed and dried, using coin-operated machines

launderette

American  
[lawn-duh-ret, lahn‑, lawn-duh-ret, lahn‑] / ˌlɔn dəˈrɛt, ˌlɑn‑, ˈlɔn dəˌrɛt, ˈlɑn‑ /
Also laundrette

noun

  • launderettes
    plural
  1. a self-service laundry having coin-operated washers, driers, etc.


Launderette British  
/ lɔːnˈdrɛt, ˌlɔːndəˈrɛt /

noun

  1. Also called (US, Canadian, and NZ): Laundromat.  a commercial establishment where clothes can be washed and dried, using coin-operated machines

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of launderette

First recorded in 1945–50; formerly a trademark

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:

The thing about London is that you can have a launderette and then look above it and it’s got this beautiful Regency architecture.

From New York Times Oct. 21, 2021

“This is disturbing,” said Wade Chen, who was boarding up a launderette, looking toward the large number of people continuing to carry off what was left in the large Target store.

From The Guardian May 29, 2020

Pope Francis has opened a free launderette in Rome in the latest of a series of initiatives aimed at the poor that has included help with housing, showers, haircuts, meals and medical care.

From The Guardian Apr. 11, 2017

But no amount of scripted drama, an elderly lady smoking in a launderette and lots of people arguing can match the explosiveness of sport.

From BBC Feb. 19, 2015

We were soaked and filthy, desperately needed a launderette, clean, dry clothes, a square meal, and a Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

The Austin American-Statesman reports that Austin-based restaurants Launderette and Fresa's earlier this week announced plans to ask patrons to show they had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before entering.

From Salon Aug. 13, 2021

After settling in Austin, he worked at acclaimed restaurants like La Condesa, Uchiko and Launderette before opening Suerte with the restaurant’s owner, Sam Hellman-Mass, 33.

From New York Times Dec. 22, 2018

On film, he earned a Bafta nomination for playing Thatcherite Pakistani businessman in 1985's My Beautiful Launderette, and was nominated for the Genie awards - the Canadian Oscars - for 1992 Canadian film Masala.

From BBC Nov. 16, 2015

"What My Beautiful Launderette told me was that there was the possibility of telling our stories on the big screen," she says.

From The Guardian Feb. 17, 2011

Example: Bert S. Good, who has four stores in Manhattan, is netting $800 a week, and recently opened a store in Switzerland, the first foreign Launderette.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Our aim is to keep charges significantly below nearby high street launderettes, and that's why pricing will vary across the country."

From BBC Feb. 2, 2026

At the time, P&O said a "wide range of approved protocols" had been put in place, including closing on-board launderettes and preventing passengers from serving themselves at the buffet.

From BBC Nov. 15, 2024

The Federation of Small Businesses has warned of the impact on everything from fish-and-chip shops and launderettes.

From New York Times Sep. 3, 2022

Soldiers in uniform were patrolling in the rain nearby, as if this were somehow Afghanistan, walking past urban launderettes and bakeries.

From The Guardian Nov. 20, 2015

Coffee machines will cost 50% more, launderettes 30% more.

From Time Magazine Archive

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