dry cleaning
45
2.5
- noun
- /draɪ ˈkliːnɪŋ/
:
limpieza en seco
- Because Gene never drove, Betsey got the groceries, the wine, and took the dry cleaning.
- pick up dry cleaning
- pay for dry cleaning
- drop off dry cleaning
Who's going to dry clean a dress because the lining needs dry cleaning.
- Who's going to dry clean a dress because the lining needs dry cleaning.
- I mean, the hotel dry cleaning bills alone, incredibly tough.
- They'll have why your hangers are plastic from dry cleaning, old stuff just hanging out in there.
- How much is dry cleaning, cars, insurance, medical toothpaste?
- It's just once it's drinkable, you really save on hotel dry cleaning.
- Yeah, I guess you go back to picking up dry cleaning or writing more New York Times bestseller books one week.
Examples
-
- Is there a good dry cleaning here?
-
A very small, cluttered dry cleaning shop near Columbia.
Fiction book (2000) -
I have to pick up my dry cleaning, because it's dry now.
-
We'll pay for your dry cleaning bill.
-
I got your dry cleaning.
-
Did you remove either of those for dry cleaning?
Fiction book (1999) -
I offered to pay for Lorraine's dry cleaning.
-
Two weeks later, in a mini-mall where I'm picking up some dry cleaning, I run into him again.
Fiction book (2001) -
The datebook listed court dates, appointments, and reminders to pick up dry cleaning or visit the dentist.
Fiction book (1994) -
I took my suit to the dry cleaning shop to remove the stains before the wedding.
Synonyms
124
1.6
A person or shop that cleans clothes professionally, often using dry cleaning
24
1.6
A person or shop that cleans clothes with chemicals instead of water
19
1.5
A shop that cleans clothes without using water
A shop that cleans clothes for people, often by dry cleaning
How Washable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'cleaning with a solvent other than water' is directly derivable from combining 'dry' (not wet) with 'cleaning' (the action of cleaning) — i.e. cleaning done without water. This adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common and follows regular English logic, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Dry cleaning comes from an old method of washing clothes with a special liquid instead of water. The word dry meant 'without water', so the phrase now means cleaning clothes using a special liquid rather than water.