launderette

IPA/ˌlɔːndəˈret/
IPA/ˌlɔːndəˈret/

launderette — noun

  • launderettesingular
  • launderettesplural

1. a shop with machines that customers operate to get their own clothes washed and

1.nounB1
Definition

a shop with machines that customers operate to get their own clothes washed and dried, paying per load

Example

Noa takes her bedsheets to the launderette every Sunday morning.

collocation: take [items] to the launderette

The launderette on Green Street stays open until eleven at night.

launderette as subject with location verb

Common collocations
  • at the launderette
  • go to the launderette
  • use the launderette
  • take [clothes/sheets/towels] to the launderette
  • open a launderette
  • run a launderette
  • launderette customer
  • launderette owner
Synonyms
  • laundromat

    American English term for the same concept

  • self-service laundry

    more formal or descriptive; less common in everyday speech

  • washateria

    dated US regional term, still heard in parts of the southern US and Texas

Usage Note

British English term; the American equivalent is 'laundromat'. Also frequently spelled 'laundrette' (especially in BrE). Refers only to self-service facilities where customers operate the machines themselves, not to a full-service dry cleaner or drop-off laundry service.

Common Mistakes

I dropped my suits at the launderette for them to wash.
I went to the launderette to wash my clothes myself.
A launderette is self-service; you operate the machines, not the staff.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five terms refer to places where clothes are washed, but they differ in geography, service model, and register. 'Launderette' (also 'laundrette') is the standard British term for a self-service coin-operated washing facility. 'Laundromat' is its American counterpart — originally a trademarked brand name that became generic in the US. 'Washateria' is a dated regional variant still used in parts of the US South and Texas. 'Self-service laundry' is a descriptive, more formal label that works in either variety but sounds less natural in everyday conversation. 'Laundry' can refer to either the dirty clothes themselves, the room where washing is done at home, or (with 'Chinese laundry'/'French laundry') a commercial service — but never specifically to a self-service operation. 'Dry cleaner's' is a fundamentally different service: staff do the cleaning and pressing for you, usually using chemical solvents rather than water. If a British speaker says 'I'm going to the launderette,' they mean operating machines themselves; if they say 'I'm going to the dry cleaner's,' they are dropping off clothes to be professionally cleaned.

laundromat ↗self-service laundrywashateria ↗laundry ↗dry cleaner's

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • go to the launderette
  • use the launderette
  • open a launderette
  • run a launderette
  • work at a launderette

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'launderette' was coined in the 1940s as a trade name, blending 'laundry' with the French-derived diminutive suffix '-ette' (meaning 'small' or 'female version of'). The first self-service washing facilities appeared in the United States in the 1930s under the brand name 'Laundromat' (trademarked by the Westinghouse company). When the concept spread to Britain in the 1950s, retailers chose 'launderette' to avoid trademark conflict. The spelling 'laundrette', using the French feminine ending '-ette' more directly, emerged as a common variant. Behind 'laundry' lies a longer chain: from Latin 'lavare' (to wash), through Old French 'lavanderie' (a washing place), into Middle English.