janitor

noun

ˈja-nə-tər How to pronounce janitor (audio)
Definition of janitornext
1
as in custodian
a person who takes care of a property sometimes for an absent owner got a job as the night janitor at the elementary school

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in porter
a person who tends a door according to popular Christian tradition, St. Peter acts as janitor at heaven's pearly gates

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of janitor Landon built relationships with the janitors and grounds crew, always stopping to chat. — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 10 July 2026 Broadwater, then 20, had grown up as one of six children of a janitor who worked for Syracuse University. — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 30 June 2026 Goodall had toiled 23 years as a janitor in a Terre Haute, Indiana, middle school when the 55-year old hopped a flight for the first time in his life, and took the AGT stage in Los Angeles. — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 24 June 2026 Some hospital staff, like janitors and cafeteria workers, still make minimum wage. — Cassie McGrath, Fortune, 19 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for janitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for janitor
  1. custodian
  2. porter
  3. keeper
  4. warden
  5. caretaker
Noun
  • More from this past week • A transgender woman who works as a custodian at the University of Kansas was reported for using the wrong restroom under a new state law.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Zuckerberg is referencing OpenAI and Anthropic, which operate on the premise that hyper-smart AI is both inevitable and apocalyptic—and therefore safe only in the hands of the wisest custodians (themselves).
    — Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of custodian
Noun
  • On the plus side, the maintenance fees feel surprisingly reasonable for the neighborhood — $1,043 a month — which get you a storage unit, gym, playroom, and roof deck, along with a super, a porter, and a part-time doorman.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Pick your brew from over 50 kegs of diverse brews like porters, stouts, sours, and more.
    — John Coffren, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of porter
Noun
  • On the Duke’s side, Joely Richardson is back as Eddie’s mother Lady Sabrina, Daniel Ings as disinherited older brother Freddy, Jasmine Blackborow as sister Charly and Vinnie Jones as Geoff, keeper of the grounds – and family secrets.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Morché is the first keeper in club history to record a clean sheet in her debut.
    — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of keeper
Noun
  • There is no word on when the search for a new warden will commence.
    — Christopher DeRose, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • But to Bill Donnelly, the service’s warden, New Jersey’s fire season, like North America’s, can feel unending.
    — Robert Sullivan, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of warden
Noun
  • White works for the state as an in-home caretaker for elderly and disabled clients.
    — Evelyn Ronan, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Jose Mourinho returns to the Bernabeu thirteen years after his first spell ended, appointed to end a two-season trophy drought that cost Xabi Alonso his job in January and left Álvaro Arbeloa’s caretaker spell without a single piece of silverware.
    — Sam Leveridge, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of caretaker

Browse Nearby Words

jangly
janitor
janitors
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Cite this Entry

“Janitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/janitor. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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