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launder

 - 4 dictionary results

laun⋅der

[lawn-der, lahn-]
–verb (used with object)
1. to wash (clothes, linens, etc.).
2. to wash and iron (clothes).
3. Informal.
a. to disguise the source of (illegal or secret funds or profits), usually by transmittal through a foreign bank or a complex network of intermediaries.
b. 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)
5. to wash laundry.
6. to undergo washing and ironing: The shirt didn't launder well.
–noun
7. (in ore dressing) a passage carrying products of intermediate grade and residue in water suspension.
8. Metallurgy. a channel for conveying molten steel to a ladle.

Origin:
1300–50; 1970–75 for def. 3; ME: launderer, syncopated var. of lavandere, lavendere washer of linen < MF lavandier(e) < ML lavandārius (masc.), lavandāria (fem.), equiv. to L lavand- (ger. s. of lavāre to wash) + -ārius, -āria -ary; see -er 2 )


laun⋅der⋅a⋅ble, adjective
laun⋅der⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
laun⋅der⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To launder
laun·der   (lôn'dər, län'-)   
v.   laun·dered, laun·der·ing, laun·ders

v.   tr.
    1. To wash (clothes, for example).

    2. To wash, fold, and iron: shirts that were neatly laundered by the hotel staff.

  1. To disguise the source or nature of (illegal funds, for example) by channeling through an intermediate agent.

  2. To make more acceptable or presentable, sanitize: "The transcripts are, of course, laundered . . . unidentified larger chunks of conversation are reported missing throughout" (Eliot Fremont-Smith).

v.   intr.
  1. To undergo washing in a specified way: This material launders well.

  2. To wash or prepare laundry.

n.  A trough or flume used in washing ore.

[From Middle English launder, lavender, launderer, from Old French lavandier, from Vulgar Latin *lavandārius, from Latin lavandāria, things to be washed, from lavanda, neuter pl. gerundive of lavāre, to wash; see leu(ə)- in Indo-European roots.]
laun'der·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
launder

  1. tv.
    to conceal the source and nature of stolen or illicitly gotten money by moving it in and out of different financial institutions. (Underworld. See also greenwash.) : The woman's sole function was to launder the money from drug deals.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: laun·der
Function: transitive verb
: to transfer (money or instruments deriving from illegal activity) so as to conceal the true nature and source <launder money through an offshore account>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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