custodian vs. janitor

custodian vs. janitor: What's the difference?

Custodian and janitor are both words for a person whose job is to take care of an area or property. Custodian usually refers to a person who is primarily in charge of guarding or maintaining a property. This person may do some cleaning in addition to general maintenance tasks such as repairing and checking equipment and securing the property. Janitor usually refers to a person who generally specializes in cleaning, without performing additional maintenance tasks.

custodian

noun

  1. a person who has custody; keeper; guardian.

  2. a person entrusted with guarding or maintaining a property; janitor.

janitor

noun

  1. a person employed in an apartment house, office building, school, etc., to clean the public areas, remove garbage, and do minor repairs; caretaker.

  2. Archaic.,  a doorkeeper or porter.

verb (used without object)

  1. to be employed as a janitor.