laundromat

[lawn-druh-mat, lahn-]

See more synonyms for laundromat on Thesaurus.com

noun

a self-service laundry having coin-operated washers, driers, etc.; launderette.

Origin of laundromat

First recorded in 1940–45; formerly a trademark, originally a brand of washer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for laundromat

blind, hideaway, covering, mask, privacy, cover, camouflage, disguise, secretion, front, curtain, obliteration, veil, cover-up, beard, occultation, laundromat, dissimulation, obscuration

Examples from the Web for laundromat

Contemporary Examples of laundromat

That list includes apartment complexes, the Chrysler Group, real estate agencies, a laundromat and even a cemetery.
Detroit Shuts Off Water to Residents but Not to Businesses Who Owe Millions
Mary M. Chapman
July 26, 2014
She works part-time in a Laundromat and lives in a homeless shelter in New York with her fiancé and 13-year-old son.
‘Out in the Night’ and the Redemption of the ‘Killer Lesbian Gang'
Nina Strochlic
June 21, 2014
Seriously everywhere: every bar, gas station, grocery store, radio station, church, halfway house, laundromat, and party.
Your Guide to the Grammys: 11 Songs to Listen to Before Sunday’s Awards
Kevin Fallon
January 26, 2014
The investigators got just enough to lead them to a building near the laundromat.
Baby Hope Killer Confesses After 22 Years
Michael Daly
October 13, 2013
Prior to being a film critic, you worked as a translator and a Laundromat attendant.
The New Roger Ebert Takes Our Movie Quiz
Marlow Stern
January 19, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for laundromat

Laundromat

noun

trademark US, Canadian and NZ a commercial establishment where clothes can be washed and dried, using coin-operated machinesAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): Launderette, laundrette

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

Word Origin and History for laundromat

"automatic coin-operated public laundry," 1946, originally (1942) a proprietary name by Westinghouse for a type of automatic washing machine; from laundry + ending probably suggested by automat. Also used for public clothes-washing places in U.S. were washateria (1935), laundrette (1945). The Westinghouse machine was popular after the war and was available with coin chutes and timers.