2 syllables: lau, ndry. Stress on lau.
LAWN-dree
/ˈlɔndɹi/
laundry is pronounced LAWN-dree (/ˈlɔndɹi/). It has two syllables (lau-ndry), with the stress on "lau". Laundry refers to clothes and linens that need washing or have been washed, as well as the act of washing them. In everyday use, it denotes the garments and textiles that are cleaned or awaiting cleaning, often in the context of home chores or professional cleaning. The term can also extend to a place or facility where such washing occurs. It is a common, informal word found in both spoken and written English.
Laundry refers to clothes and linens that need washing or have been washed, as well as the act of washing them. In everyday use, it denotes the garments and textiles that are cleaned or awaiting cleaning, often in the context of home chores or professional cleaning. The term can also extend to a place or facility where such washing occurs. It is a common, informal word found in both spoken and written English.
"I’ll do the laundry after dinner."
"The laundry room is on the second floor near the stairs."
"She hung the wet towels to dry in the sun after finishing the laundry."
Pronunciation: /ˈlɔːn.dri/ (US) or /ˈlɔːn.dri/ (UK/AU). The first syllable bears primary stress: LAUN-dry. Start with an open back or mid-back lax vowel in the first syllable, then glide into a clear /n/ and a syllabic /dri/ sequence. The second syllable ends with a /i/ sound as in 'see,' with the /r/ pronounced in rhotic accents. Lip position: relaxed lips, mild jaw drop for /ɔː/; tip-of-tongue contact for /l/, alveolar /n/ and /d/ joined by a light /r/ or rhotic glide. Mouth closes into a light [r] before the final [i]. Audio reference: imagine saying ‘laun-dree’ smoothly, with the emphasis on ‘laun.’
Common mistakes include: 1) Dropping the final -dry sound to something like -die or -dree without proper /ri/; ensure the final is /dri/ with a clear /r/ before a high front vowel. 2) Misplacing the stress, speaking as LOAN-dree or laun-DRY; keep primary stress on the first syllable. 3) Merging /lɔː/ to /laʊ/ or reducing the vowel too much; keep a mid-back rounded /ɔː/ sound. Corrections: practice with slow syllables LAUN-dri, exaggerate the /ɔː/ first vowel, ensure /dr/ is a single consonant cluster before /i/.
US, UK, and AU all share the /ˈlɔːn.dri/ pattern, with rhotics in US/AU; UK is typically non-rhotic, but the ending /ri/ still surfaces as a light /ri/. The main difference is the rhoticity of the /r/: US and AU pronounce the /r/ in /dri/ more strongly; UK often links to a shorter post-vocalic schwa before the final /i/ and a softer /r/ or non-rhoticity in some accents. Vowel quality in /ɔː/ may be slightly rounder in UK than in US; in some British dialects, the /ɔː/ could approach /ɒ/ in some regional variants.
The difficulty comes from the diphthong in the first syllable /ɔː/ and the tricky /ndr/ cluster across syllables. English often links /l/ to /ɔː/ without clear boundary, and the /n/ blends into /dr/ producing a swift /ndr/ sequence before the final /i/. People often shorten or mispronounce the second syllable as -dree vs -dry and struggle with the rhotic /r/ in rhotic accents. Practicing the exact sequence /lɔːn.dri/ with careful tongue placement helps overcome these challenges.
The word centers on two nearly-syllabic sonorants with a distinct /nd/ transition before the /r/ and /i/. Unique to 'laundry' is the tight /ndr/ sequence across the syllable boundary; the /r/ is not just attached to the vowel but modifies the following /i/ creating a subtle rhotic coloration in US/AU accents. Emphasize the pause between /ɔːn/ and /dri/ while keeping the /l/ light and the /n/ crisp.
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Laundry comes from the Old French word lavanderie, which itself derives from laver, meaning to wash. The term entered English via Norman French in the Middle Ages, originally referring to a washhouse or a place where washing was done, and by extension the things washed there. In Early Modern English, ‘laundry’ began to refer to the act or business of washing clothes, rather than the place alone, and gradually the meaning broadened to include the clothes and textiles themselves. The word maintains a dual sense in contemporary usage: the collection of items to be washed (or that has been washed) and the process or service of washing those items. The modern pronunciation settled into the /ˈlɔːndri/ (US) and /ˈlɔːndri/ (UK) forms, with the second syllable pronounced like -dree rather than -drie, reflecting assimilation and vowel simplification common in English. First known uses appear in Middle English texts around the 14th century, evolving from the concept of washing and the place of washing into a household term for all items to be laundered and the act itself. Over centuries, ‘laundry’ has remained a functional and ubiquitous term in domestic life, commercial services, and fashion contexts, preserving its core meaning while adapting to modern laundering technologies and routines.
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Words that rhyme with "laundry"
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