From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcharwomanchar‧wom‧an /ˈtʃɑːˌwʊmən $ ˈtʃɑːr-/ noun (plural charwomen /-ˌwɪmɪn/) [countable] British English old-fashioned DHCBOa woman who works as a cleaner, especially in someone’s house
Examples from the Corpus
charwoman• You're a charwoman for Mrs Charlton, but round about here they have a number of names for you.• Supposed to be matron, and knew no more than a charwoman.• She has also a splendid charwoman.Origin charwoman (1500-1600) chare “work” ((14-19 centuries)) (from chare “turn, piece of work” ((11-17 centuries)), from Old English cerr) + woman 