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clothes dryer

clothes dryer

2 1.2
A machine that removes water from wet clothes using warm air
  • noun
  • /kloʊðz ˈdraɪər/
  • US
translation icon : secadora de ropa
  • Energy Star appliances, such as washing machines, clothes dryers, water heaters, faucets, and toilets, consume less water and energy, which provides further economic benefits to the consumer and the environment.
  • an electric clothes dryer
  • a clothes dryer vent
  • buy a clothes dryer

Examples

  • And we have a fridge, electric oven, 42-inch TV, electric clothes dryer...

    Blog text (28)
  • We have gas for our water heater, stove/oven, and clothes dryer.

    Blog text (24)
  • No air conditioning, no clothes dryer, no food freezer.

  • I'm finding it quite absurd all this talk about electric clothes dryers.

    Blog text (23)
  • The hot water heater and clothes dryer use 120 ccf of gas per year.

    Blog text (15)
  • Similarly, clothes dryers will run only until the clothes are dry, and washing machines will know how much hot water to use for a load of cotton sheets.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • To promote energy efficiency with new standards for refrigerators, clothes washers, clothes dryers, small motors, and more.

    Blog text (30)
  • I have calculated (roughly) that it costs us approximately $5.00 each laundry day to run our clothes dryer for the two to three loads we wash.

    Blog text (19)
  • But only 17 percent of Germans owned an electric clothes dryer—a high-energy product—compared to 51 percent of Americans.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I bought a new clothes dryer that uses less energy than my old one.

Synonyms

dryer
vsclothes dryer
161 1.0

A machine that removes water from clothes by blowing warm air

is specific to machines that remove moisture from washed garments by circulated heated air
tumble drier
vsclothes dryer
  • UK
1 2.6

A machine that dries wet clothes by spinning them in warm air

does not always mention the drum spinning part when describing drying by air
clothes drier
vsclothes dryer
  • UK
2.0

A machine that uses warm air to dry wet clothes

is the same in meaning but uses the alternate common spelling
tumble-dryer
vsclothes dryer
  • UK
2.6

A machine that spins wet clothes with hot air to remove water

is about moisture removal by circulating heated air without stressing tumbling

How Fast

tumble-dryer
  • UK
2.6
clothes dryer
  • US
2 1.2
clotheshorse
  • UK
7.5

Surface Forms

clothes dryer singular

Morphology

clothes + dryer

The meaning 'a machine that removes moisture from clothes' is directly and compositionally derived from 'clothes' (wearable items) + 'dryer' (an appliance that removes moisture). This noun–noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern specifying the dryer’s purpose, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

The name clothes dryer comes from a simple image: it is a dryer for clothes, doing quickly what people once did by hanging wet shirts to dry. So today clothes dryer means 'a machine that removes water from washed clothes'.