Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dirty laundry

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.94 in modern English

Syllables: dirty laun-dry
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Unflattering or embarrassing facts, or questionable activities that one wants to remain secret, but which someone else may use as blackmail.

Uncountable

noun

A clothes hamper or other container in which soiled laundry is placed.

Uncountable

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dirty, laundry.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"If you don't tell me why you did it, I'll air all your dirty laundry to your boss."
"Look, we all have trouble in our lives but most of us aren't hanging our dirty laundry out there for the whole world to see."
"Place your dirty clothes in the dirty laundry."
"If you bring your dirty laundry round on Saturday, I'll wash it for you."

Usage

Uncountable

Phrases

air one's dirty laundry in public wash one's dirty laundry in public dirty linen

Frequently Paired Words

dirty linen

Synonyms

dirty washing dirty linen

Questions

What does dirty laundry mean?: Unflattering or embarrassing facts, or questionable activities that one wants to remain secret, but which someone else may use as blackmail.

How to pronounce dirty laundry

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dirty laundry”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “dirty laundry” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.