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Glite Dictionary
heap of laundry

heap of laundry

1.9
A large pile of dirty clothes waiting to be washed
  • noun
translation icon : montón de ropa sucia
  • I have a huge heap of laundry to do this weekend.

Examples

  • After the trip, there was a heap of laundry to sort and wash.

  • She sighed at the heap of laundry on the bathroom floor.

  • A heap of laundry blocked the doorway, making it hard to get in.

  • Can you help me with this heap of laundry?

  • There was a giant heap of laundry in the corner of the room that needed to be sorted.

  • After the party, I was left with a daunting heap of laundry to clean.

  • She sighed as she stared at the heap of laundry piling up in the basket, realizing it was time to do the washing.

Synonyms

pile
vsheap of laundry
426 1.9

A heap of things put together

is a large messy group of dirty clothes awaiting cleaning
washing
vsheap of laundry
  • UK
72 1.0

Clothes and sheets that need cleaning or were just cleaned

is a large messy group mainly of dirty clothes rather than cleaning status
wash
vsheap of laundry
65 1.0

Clothes and linens that are being washed or were just washed

is a large messy group specifically of dirty clothes waiting to be cleaned

How Much

heap of laundry
1.9
laundry
366 1.0
a load of
  • Informal
65 1.0

Surface Forms

heap of laundry singular
heaps of laundry plural

Morphology

heap + of + laundry

The meaning 'a large pile of laundry' is directly and transparently derived from 'heap' (a pile) + 'of' + 'laundry' (clothes awaiting washing). The noun + of + noun composition is a common, predictable pattern across languages and will be immediately understood by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Heap of laundry comes from a simple picture: heap means a pile and laundry means clothes waiting to be washed, like a stack on the floor. So, it means 'a large pile of dirty clothes'.