laundress

American

[lawn-dris, lahn-] / ˈlɔn drɪs, ˈlɑn- /

noun

a woman whose work is the washing and ironing of clothes, linens, etc.

laundress British

/ ˈlɔːndrɪs /

noun

a woman who launders clothes, sheets, etc, for a living

"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

Gender

See -ess.

Other Word Forms

underlaundress noun

Etymology

Origin of laundress

1540–50; obsolete launder launderer ( see launder) + -ess

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.

In a little over a year, my three-decade indenture as a full-time laundress will come to an end.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2024

Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the son of a schoolteacher and a laundress, was born Oct.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 26, 2021

Her father was later a caretaker and her mother a laundress and the owner of a boardinghouse.

From New York Times • Nov. 28, 2021

What is the difference between an honest and a dishonest laundress?

From Salon • Sep. 6, 2021

We could have afforded a laundress, she thought; it wasn’t fair.

From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023