launder

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UK/ˈlɔːndə//ˈlɑːndə(ɹ)/US/ˈlɔndɚ/cot caught merger/ˈlɑndɚ/

noun

A washerwoman or washerman.

Similar
inlayerwashrinse
OriginMiddle English lavender ← Old French lavandiere ← Late Latin lavandera →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

nounlaunder (plural launders)

plural launders · alternative launderer

  1. obsoleteA washerwoman or washerman.
  2. businessA trough used by miners to receive powdered ore from the box where it is beaten, or for carrying water to the stamps, or other apparatus for comminuting (sorting) the ore.
  3. A trough or channel carrying water to the wheel of a watermill.

    Synonyms: inlayer

  4. A gutter (for rainwater).
verblaunder (third-person singular simple present launders, present participle laundering, simple past and past participle laundered)

present singular third person launders · participle present laundering · participle past laundered · past laundered · alternative launderer

  1. To wash; to wash, and to smooth with a flatiron or mangle; to wash and iron.
  2. obsoleteTo lave; to wet.

    Oft did she heave her napkin to her eyne, / Which on it had conceited characters, / Laundering the silken figures in the brine

    1609, William Shakespeare, “A Louers Complaint”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC
  3. businessTo disguise the source of (ill-gotten wealth) by various means.
  4. transitivecomputingTo obtain a pointer to an object created in storage occupied by an existing object of the same type, even if it has const or reference members.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA trough or channel carrying water to the wheel of a watermill.

Similar
inlayer

More synonyms by meaning

verbcleanse with a cleaning agent, such as soap, and water

Similar
washrinse
Broader
cleanmake clean
Also see
inlayerrinsewash

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinlavō“to wash”
  2. Late Latinlavandera
  3. Old Frenchlavandiere
  4. Middle Englishlavender
  5. Englishlaunder

Contracted from Middle English lavender, from Old French lavandiere, from Late Latin lavandera, from Latin lavō (“to wash”).

More words from Middle English, Old French, Late Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian корито за промиване, пера
  • корито за промиване (korito za promivane)trough used by miners to carry material
  • пера (pera)to wash and iron
  • пера (pera)to disguise the source of
Catalan rentar, fer la bugada
  • rentarto wash and iron
  • fer la bugadato wash and iron
  • blanquejarto disguise the source of
Chinese Mandarin 洗, 洗
  • 洗to wash and iron
  • 洗 (xǐ)to disguise the source of
Finnish ränni, ränni
  • rännitrough used by miners to carry material
  • rännitrough or channel carrying water to the wheel of a watermill
  • pyykätä ja silittääto wash and iron
  • pestäto disguise the source of
French blanchir
  • blanchirto wash and iron
German waschen, waschen
  • waschento wash and iron
  • waschento disguise the source of
Hungarian pénzt mos
  • pénzt mosto disguise the source of
Latin lavō, lavō
  • lavōto wash and iron
  • lavōto wet
Malay mencuci, membasuh
  • mencucito wash and iron
  • membasuhto wash and iron
  • melabur secara haramto disguise the source of
Norwegian Bokmål hvitvaske
  • hvitvasketo disguise the source of
Polish prać, uprać
  • praćto wash and iron
  • upraćto wash and iron
Portuguese lavar, branquear
  • lavarto wash and iron
  • branquearto disguise the source of
Russian отмывать
  • отмывать (otmyvatʹ)to disguise the source of
Spanish lavar, hacer la colada
  • lavarto wash and iron
  • hacer la coladato wash and iron
Thai ซักอบรีด, ฟอก
  • ซักอบรีด (sák-òp-rîit)to wash and iron
  • ฟอก (fɔ̂ɔk)to disguise the source of
Ukrainian пра́ти, ви́прати
  • пра́ти (práty)to wash and iron
  • ви́прати (výpraty)to wash and iron
  • відмива́ти (vidmyváty)to disguise the source of
  • відми́ти (vidmýty)to disguise the source of

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with launder

alexandersanderXander
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Arundellurdanerundale
Cite this entry
APA

launder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/launder

MLA

“launder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/launder. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “launder,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/launder.

Source: launder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.