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Glite Dictionary
flat wash

flat wash

5.3
Large flat laundry items like sheets and towels that are ironed by machine
  • noun
translation icon : ropa plana
  • Pillowcases and sheets are considered part of the flat wash in most commercial laundries.

Examples

  • The new machine can handle up to fifty pounds of flat wash at a time.

  • The hotel sends all its flat wash to an outside laundry service.

  • The hotel provides a flat wash service for guests.

  • She prefers to use a flat wash for her linens.

  • Pillowcases and sheets are considered part of the flat wash in most commercial laundries.

  • The hotel sends all its flat wash to an outside laundry service.

  • The new machine can handle up to fifty pounds of flat wash at a time.

Synonyms

flatwork
vsflat wash
  • Specialized
8.9

Laundry like sheets, tablecloths and towels you iron flat

has identical meaning but uses a different compound noun form

Surface Forms

flat wash singular
flat washes plural

Morphology

flat + wash

The phrase is a straightforward modifier-noun composition: a B1 learner who knows 'flat' (having a flat surface) and 'wash' (a batch of laundry) can infer it refers to a batch of flat laundry items (sheets, towels). However, the specialized service sense — that these are items suitable for machine/flat ironing rather than hand treatment — is a domain-specific extension not fully predictable from the constituents alone.

Etymology

Flat wash comes from laundry work: large, flat items such as sheets and towels are washed and then ironed flat by machine. So flat wash means 'laundry items that can be ironed by machine'.