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washerwoman

American  
[wosh-er-woom-uhn, waw-sher-] / ˈwɒʃ ərˌwʊm ən, ˈwɔ ʃər- /

noun

washerwomen plural
  1. a woman who washes clothes, linens, etc., for hire; laundress.


washerwoman British  
/ ˈwɒʃəˌwʊmən /

noun

  1. a person who washes clothes 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 -woman.

Etymology

Origin of washerwoman

First recorded in 1625–35; washer + -woman

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.

McCarty worked for 75 years as a washerwoman and donated the majority of her life savings to the university after her death in 1999 at the age of 91.

From Washington Times • Oct. 9, 2020

Rigid social and ethnic demarcations begin to bend when the matriarch of a wealthy white family in New Rochelle, N.Y., provides shelter to an African American washerwoman who is scared and alone after giving birth.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2019

Each morning, Watson wakes from his spot on the floor to clean the house for his washerwoman employer before taking to the streets to sell water.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2017

Growing up in a Rio favela in the 1970s, Ms Assis started working as a nanny when she was just nine, and later found employment as a washerwoman and cleaning lady.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2016

“I am not a washerwoman, Nell. I am not a secretary or a bookkeeper. For your information, I am a detective. In fact, I am the first woman Mr. Pinkerton has ever employed as such.”

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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