What does launder mean?
To launder something originally means to wash it, especially clothing or other fabrics. In modern figurative usage, the verb usually means to process illegally obtained money, property, or financial proceeds so that they appear to originate from a legitimate source. This activity is known as money laundering, and it is usually associated with criminal organizations seeking to conceal the origin or destination of funds. The verb can also be used more generally for making something appear cleaner, more respectable, or less problematic, though that extension should be understood from context. While the washing sense is still understandable, the financial sense is now the most prominent in public and legal discussion. The word comes from an old term for a person or place involved in washing, ultimately connected with the Latin verb meaning “to wash.”
To wash clothes or other fabrics; to clean or refresh textiles.
"He laundered the linen before putting it away."
This literal sense is now somewhat literary or dated in many English-speaking regions.
To process illegally obtained money or assets so that their origin appears legitimate or difficult to trace.
"The accused attempted to launder proceeds from fraud through several bank accounts."
This is the dominant modern sense in legal, financial, and journalistic contexts.
A trough or basin used for washing clothes, or historically, a place where washing was done.
"The old launder stood beside the river."
This noun sense is archaic or historical and is not commonly used in contemporary English.
The same word for washing clothes also describes giving dirty money a respectable appearance: money laundering is literally an assault on the dirtier of two kinds of cleanliness.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does launder come from?
The word descends from Old French lavandier, meaning a washer or person who washes, which in turn reflects the Latin root lavare, “to wash.” In English, launder originally referred to washing or to a person or place associated with washing clothes. The financial sense developed by analogy with the idea of cleaning money through a process that makes it appear legitimate, a use now firmly established in legal and financial language.
Related word forms
How launder is actually used
The financial sense is usually used in a negative or legal context and commonly occurs with money, funds, assets, or proceeds. The ordinary washing sense is less common in British and American English than the related words laundry and laundrette or laundromat.
Easily confused with launder
Laundry is the clothing or other items to be washed, or the business of washing clothes, whereas launder is the verb for washing them or disguising the origin of money or assets.