- laun´der|er
- laun|der «LN duhr, LAHN-», verb, noun.–v.t.1. to wash, or wash and iron, (linens and clothes): »
Many homes have machines to launder clothes. These tablecloths and napkins have to be laundered.
2. Figurative. to rid of any taint; make seem innocent, legitimate, or acceptable: »[He] developed the world network of couriers…that allows the underworld to take profits from illegal enterprises, to send them halfway around the world and then have the money come back laundered clean to be invested in legitimate businesses (Atlantic). The newspaper said that the Senator's fund raisers “laundered” large donations from labor unions and other special-interest groups by funneling them through phony re-election committees set up in Washington (New York Times).
–v.i.1. to be able to be washed; stand washing: »Cotton materials usually launder very well and do not tend to shrink.
2. to wash, or wash and iron, clothes or linens: »Many housewives launder on Monday.
–n.1. a trough for water, either cut in the earth or formed of wood or other material.2. a passage for conveying intermediate products or residues of ore dressing that are suspended in water.╂[Middle English lander one who washes, earlier lavender < Old French lavandier < Vulgar Latin lavandārius < Latin lavanda (things) to be washed < lavāre to wash]–laun´der|er, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
