launder

[ lawn-der, lahn- ]

verb (used with object)

1. to wash (clothes, linens, etc.).
2. to wash and iron (clothes).
3. Informal.
   1. to disguise the source of (illegal or secret funds or profits), usually by transmittal through a foreign bank or a complex network of intermediaries.
   2. to disguise the true nature of (a transaction, operation, or the like) by routing money or goods through one or more intermediaries.
4. to remove embarrassing or unpleasant characteristics or elements from in order to make more acceptable:

   He'll have to launder his image if he wants to run for office.

verb (used without object)

1. to wash laundry.
2. to undergo washing and ironing:

   The shirt didn't launder well.

noun

1. (in ore dressing) a passage carrying products of intermediate grade and residue in water suspension.
2. Metallurgy. a channel for conveying molten steel to a ladle.

launder

/ ˈlɔːndə /

verb

1. to wash, sometimes starch, and often also iron (clothes, linen, etc)
2. intr to be capable of being laundered without shrinking, fading, etc
3. tr to process (something acquired illegally) to make it appear respectable, esp to process illegally acquired funds through a legitimate business or to send them to a foreign bank for subsequent transfer to a home bank

noun

1. a water trough, esp one used for washing ore in mining

Derived Forms

• ˈlaunderer, noun

Other Words From

• launder·a·ble adjective
• launder·a·bili·ty noun
• launder·er noun
• re·launder verb (used with object)
• un·laundered adjective
• well-laundered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of launder¹

1300–50; 1970–75 launder fordef 3; Middle English: launderer, syncopated variant of lavandere, lavendere washer of linen < Middle French lavandier ( e ) < Medieval Latin lavandārius (masculine), lavandāria (feminine), equivalent to Latin lavand- (gerund stem of lavāre to wash) + -ārius, -āria -ary; -er ² )

Word History and Origins

Origin of launder¹

C14 (n, meaning: a person who washes linen): changed from lavender washerwoman, from Old French lavandiere, ultimately from Latin lavāre to wash

Example Sentences

Following the hack, he enlisted Morgan's help to launder the stolen funds.

From BBC

A man who oversaw a scheme to launder millions of dollars of narcotics money from the U.S. to drug organizations was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, according to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

Zilke, 49, was arrested last year in May and pleaded guilty months later to conspiracy to aid and abet drug distribution, launder money and obstruction of an official government proceeding for stealing and attempting to cover up the theft of $150,000 in DEA undercover funds.

From Los Angeles Times

As part of a guilty plea, federal officials said, Zilke admitted telling the undercover agent that he had a client in Europe who needed hundreds of millions of dollars to move to Mexico and that he could use the bank account of a charity in Dallas to launder the money.

From Los Angeles Times

A cryptocurrency expert, Gritzbach had been in the process of telling officials how he helped the group launder millions of dollars.

From BBC