Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A woman employed to launder clothes or linens.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A woman whose employment is the washing and ironing of clothes; a washerwoman.
  • To practise washing and ironing.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A woman whose employment is laundering.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To act as a laundress.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A woman whose employment is laundering.
  • verb obsolete To act as a laundress.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a working woman who takes in washing

Etymologies

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Examples

  • She will identify herself as a laundress, which is her part-time profession, but from the witness stand she'll be in a position to make direct eye contact with the D.A., the judge, and the members of the jury.

    Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Berendt, John 1994

  • She will identify herself as a laundress, which is her part-time profession, but from the witness stand she'll be in a position to make direct eye contact with the D.A., the judge, and the members of the jury.

    Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Berendt, John 1994

  • When I was about ten our laundress was an African woman, very big, very dark, with a check handkerchief over her frizzy hair.

    Bliss, and Other Stories 1920

  • The laundress was a long time gone, and Gilbert sat alone in the dismal little bedroom, where there had never been the smallest attempt at comfort since John Saltram had occupied it.

    Fenton's Quest 1875

  • To halt an army for the protection and comfort of a laundress was a highly ethical action.

    Alfred Tennyson 1842

  • Sterne has pleasantly remarked that the account book of the laundress was the most authentic record he knew, as to the life of Tristram Shandy; and that it was easy to guess from the number of shirts he wore what passages of his book had cost him most.

    Analytical Studies Honor�� de Balzac 1824

  • Sterne has pleasantly remarked that the account book of the laundress was the most authentic record he knew, as to the life of Tristram Shandy; and that it was easy to guess from the number of shirts he wore what passages of his book had cost him most.

    The Physiology of Marriage, Part 3 Honor�� de Balzac 1824

  • Sterne has pleasantly remarked that the account book of the laundress was the most authentic record he knew, as to the life of Tristram Shandy; and that it was easy to guess from the number of shirts he wore what passages of his book had cost him most.

    The Physiology of Marriage, Complete Honor�� de Balzac 1824

  • Mama refused to ask her to do cleaning or laundry, but Suliadora found us a "laundress" named Rosetty who came to our house and did this twice a week while Mama was ill.

    BRASIL AS A GIRL Maggie Jochild 2007

  • Note 24: For example: Catherine Shannahan's 1839 profit of 19s. 8d. from her work as a laundress was applied towards the account of Mathew Shannahan (1839 ledger, fol.

    Gutenber-e Help Page 2005

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