# laundering

/ˈɫɔndɝɪŋ/ (US) · /lˈɔːndəɹɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/laundering
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. cleaning clothes

noun · CEFR B2

the act of washing and ironing clothes or linens.

For teachers: the process or occupation of washing and pressing clothes and linens. Uncountable in this general sense.

- The hotel offers a professional laundering service for all guests.
- Traditional laundering techniques were replaced by industrial steam presses during the mid-twentieth century to increase efficiency in the hospitality sector.

### 2. illegal money processing

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the illegal process of hiding where money came from to make it look legal.

For teachers: the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses.

- The police investigated the restaurant for its involvement in laundering stolen funds.
- The regulatory agency introduced stricter reporting requirements to prevent the laundering of proceeds from international cybercrime syndicates.

Usage: Often appears in the compound 'money laundering', though 'laundering' alone is used in legal contexts.

Teaching tip: While the physical sense is B2, the financial sense is a C1 term frequently found in news and legal reports.

## Examples

- The bank was fined for its role in money laundering.
- The criminal organization used a chain of restaurants as a front for laundering their illegal profits.
- Modern financial regulations are designed to detect sophisticated laundering schemes that attempt to move illicit funds through multiple offshore accounts to obscure the audit trail.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.