1.
whites; white-colored laundry
White or light-colored clothing and linen, treated as a separate load from colored items when doing laundry. Usually contrasted with 色物.
2.
white goods; major home appliances
Large household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, so called because they were traditionally sold in white casings. Almost always used in the compound 白物家電.
Sense 1 belongs to everyday laundry vocabulary; sense 2 belongs to retail and business reporting, where it appears almost exclusively as 白物家電.
Common collocations
- 白物と色物: whites and colors
- 白物を洗う: to wash the whites
- 白物家電: white goods; major home appliances
- 白物家電メーカー: white goods manufacturer
Similar words
- 色物: colored items — the laundry counterpart of sense 1
- 黒物家電: brown goods — TVs and audio-visual equipment, the counterpart of sense 2