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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 ( 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.

Ethel Waters in 1949 became the second Black performer to score an Oscar nomination as an illiterate Southern laundress in “Pinky.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2024

When the rain finally returned earlier this year, Ms. Vaolina — the farmer turned laundress — joined the other climate refugees in the refugee camp as they danced in the rain.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2022

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

From Seattle Times • Dec. 26, 2021

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

From Salon • Sep. 6, 2021

“I’ll take her for my helper,” the laundress said.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

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