laundering

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈlɔndɜrɪŋ/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The act or process of washing and cleaning clothes, linens, or other textiles.; The concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses, so that it appears to have come from a legitimate source.; The act of disguising or concealing the true nature or source of something, especially information or data.
  2. verb
    Present participle of 'launder'; to wash and clean clothes or textiles.; Present participle of 'launder'; to make illegally obtained money appear legitimate by passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions.; Present participle of 'launder'; to alter or manipulate data, records, or information to make them appear legitimate or accurate.
  3. adjective
    Relating to or used in the process of washing clothes or textiles.

🔗 Details

Word forms

3rd sing.: launders Past: laundered Past part.: laundered Pres part.: laundering

Collocations

money launderinglaunder moneylaundering schemelaundering operationlaundering ring

Derivatives

laundererlaundromatlaunderettelaundry

Synonyms

washcleanlegitimizewhitewashsanitize

Commonly confused

laundry
EN: 'Laundry' is a noun referring to clothes being washed or a place where washing is done; 'launder' is the verb meaning to wash or to make illicit money appear legitimate.
lavender
EN: 'Lavender' is a plant/fragrance; 'launder' means to wash or legitimize money. They look similar but are unrelated in meaning.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'launder' contains 'au' (from Latin 'lavare', to wash), not just 'a'. Do not confuse with 'lander'.

💬 Examples

  1. The laundering of the hotel sheets is done every morning by the housekeeping staff.

  2. The businessman was arrested on charges of money laundering through a chain of shell companies.

  3. The journalist accused the government of laundering the truth by selectively releasing only favorable statistics.

  4. She spent the entire afternoon laundering the family's clothes by the river.

  5. The cartel was laundering millions of dollars through real estate purchases in several countries.

  6. The accountant was caught laundering the company's financial records to hide embezzlement.

  7. The laundering facilities in the apartment building were always crowded on weekends.