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.

---

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

---

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

While Epstein was best known for his connections to businessmen and politicians, he cultivated a circle of top academics that helped launder his reputation until his arrest in 2019.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

Other loopholes exist to launder gold, such as "ghost mines," detailed in a Greenpeace investigation published Friday.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

And as prominent news outlets continue to normalize and launder that simple fact, comedy that’s both humane and hilarious is a way through, if not a way out.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2025

So it is hoping for a regulatory bill that has a light touch—don’t launder money; make sure your customers can cash out when they wish—but most importantly lends confidence and legitimacy.

From Slate ● May 21, 2025

I launder the napkins and tablecloths entirely at my own discretion.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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

But the game launders this good idea into a bad one by making many enemies invulnerable unless your character has reached a certain level.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2020

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

It is always supple, never creases, launders well, and comes in the most beautiful soft shades as well as in black and dark colors.

From Textiles and Clothing by Watson, Kate Heintz

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

British anticrime officials and the financial-sector watchdogs estimated in 2024 that more than £100 billion in illicit money is laundered inside or through the U.K. every year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

“This album is like all of those clothes, but laundered and folded neat and perfectly wrapped in a bow,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025

New York-based Michelle Lipkin, whose father Frank Ciulla was killed on the flight, speaks fondly about "the women who laundered the clothes", including Ella Ramsden and Moira Shearer.

From BBC ● May 9, 2025

On the landing he bumped into Ginny, who was returning to her room carrying a pile of freshly laundered clothes.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

It cited long-standing deficiencies in anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism at Wise U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

In December, a court in the US also sentenced Oluwaseun Adekoya, a Nigerian ringleader of nationwide bank fraud and money-laundering conspiracies, to 20 years in prison for laundering over $2m.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

The SAR programme alerts law enforcement to potential instances of money laundering and flagged 866,616 reports in 2024/25.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

Federal prosecutors convicted Rinsch in December of wire fraud, money laundering and other counts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

So while Osage boys at other institutions learned farming and carpentry, Mollie was trained in the “domestic arts”: sewing, baking, laundering, and housekeeping.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann