What does laundrette mean?
A laundrette is a self-service laundry where customers wash and dry their clothes using machines, generally by paying for each load or cycle. It is especially associated with Britain and Ireland, although the spelling launderette is more common in North America. In everyday use, the word denotes a convenient local facility rather than the washing itself: someone might say they are going to the laundrette, particularly when living in accommodation without a washing machine. Before domestic laundry machines became widely available, laundrettes served an important social and practical role and developed recognizable rituals involving coins, detergent, shared folding tables, and waiting for the dryer. Although less common in casual speech than washing machine or coin laundry, laundrette remains a familiar and characteristically British term. The related terms laundry and launder share the word's historical connection with washing clothes.
nounA self-service laundry where customers wash and dry clothes in machines, usually for a small fee. The term is chiefly used in Britain and Ireland.
- A self-service establishment with washing and drying machines for public use.
"We left our washing at the laundrette while we had lunch."
"There is a laundrette on the corner of the street."
"She used the laundrette at the station to wash and dry her clothes before work."
The plural is formed by adding -s to the end of the word.
"Several laundrettes around the station stay open late."
Before washing machines moved into homes, a trip to the laundrette was a modern ritual of coins, detergents, and waiting for the dryer to stop.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of laundrette
Laundrette was formed in English from launder, meaning to wash or launder clothing, and the diminutive suffix -ette. Launder comes through medieval usage connected with Old French and ultimately Latin roots for washing, including Latin lavare, “to wash.” The same root also underlies words such as laundry and lavatory, while laundromat was formed later on the model of a self-service business.
How laundrette is actually used
The word is chiefly British and Irish. North American speakers normally say launderette or laundromat, and some use coin laundry. It is occasionally used more broadly for a small commercial laundry that handles customers' clothing.
Easily confused with laundrette
Laundrette is the usual spelling in Britain and Ireland, whereas launderette is standard in North American English and is also understood in Britain.
A laundrette is a place where people wash clothes, while laundry can refer to clothes being washed or to the business or activity of washing clothes.