laundry mark
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.02 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An identifying marking, usually in coded form and handwritten in indelible ink on an inconspicuous area of a garment, widely used until the mid-20th century as an organizing aid by merchants who cleaned and pressed clothing.
Example Sentences
- "One of his shirt cuffs . . . bore a laundry mark, and the detectives finally located the laundry in this city."
- "The suit-case gave no clue. It contained one empty leather-covered flask and a pint bottle, also empty, a change of linen and some collars with the laundry mark, S. H."
- "Some of the numbers I remember had become useless information until the computer age brought forth the frequent necessity of thinking up passwords. . . . [W]hen at least one letter is required, I type in my army laundry mark, which is my last initial and the final four digits of my serial number."