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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

laundry list en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (archaic) Originally, a list of articles of clothing that had been sent to be laundered.
    • Learn how to make out a laundry list and to check it when the laundry comes home. 1920, Scouting for Girls: Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts, First Edition, The Girl Scouts, Inc., page 126
  2. (broadly, idiomatic) A long and often tedious list of items.
    • The MAGA masses are growing disillusioned with Justice Department officials who are failing to deliver damning information on a laundry list of hot-button issues — especially Jeffrey Epstein's suicide. 2025 May 20, Tal Axelrod, “MAGA faithful grow frustrated with Trump's Justice Department”, in Axios:
    • Among the laundry list of inconveniences most of us can't abide: cold coffee, airport delays, the high price of gasoline. 2007 July 31, Ceri Au, “Fighting for the Right to Flush”, in Time:
    • The senior Liberal Democrat, echoing the private views of other senior figures across parties, said a daily "laundry list" sent out by the party headquarters contributes to the "diminution of individual expression or even thought in politics" as politicians are expected to repeat a positive central message over and over again. 2013 October 31, Rowena Mason, quoting David Steel, “Lord Steel criticises culture of spin and tweeting in modern politics”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
  3. (colloquial) An unrealistic list of skills, qualifications and experiences, as demanded by employers when hiring staff, or claimed by a candidate on a résumé.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
laundry lists Number=Plur lexicographic

Relateds

unicorn (unrealistic list of skills) · checklist (generally) · shopping list (generally) · laundry mark (generally) · to-do list (generally) · purple squirrel (unrealistic list of skills)

Synonyms

litany

Translations (6)

de endlos lange Liste (long and often tedious list of items) · nb smørbrødliste (long and often tedious list of items) · de Wäscheliste (list of articles of clothing that had been sent to be laundered) · de Litanei (long and often tedious list of items) · pl litania (long and often tedious list of items) · pl lista rzeczy do prania (list of articles of clothing that had been sent to be laundered)