Supplemental Guarantor Information - Condensed Consolidating Income Statement (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2017	Feb. 28, 2017	Nov. 30, 2016	Aug. 31, 2016	May 31, 2016	[1]	Feb. 29, 2016	[1]	Nov. 30, 2015	[1]	Aug. 31, 2015	[1]	May 31, 2017	May 31, 2016	May 31, 2015
Revenue:
Uniform rental and facility services													$ 4,202,490	$ 3,759,524	$ 3,519,199
Other													1,120,891	1,036,248	850,478
Equity in net income of affiliates													0	0	0
Total revenue	$ 1,530,287	$ 1,255,367	$ 1,271,077	$ 1,266,650	$ 1,243,548		$ 1,190,539		$ 1,191,121		$ 1,170,564		5,323,381	4,795,772	4,369,677
Costs and expenses (income):
Cost of uniform rental and facility services													2,307,774	2,092,833	1,992,665
Cost of other													635,312	601,599	484,089
Selling and administrative expenses													1,527,380	1,332,399	1,209,284
G&K Services, Inc. transaction and integration expenses													79,224	0	0
Operating income													773,691	768,941	683,639
Gain on sale of stock of an equity method investment													0	0	21,739
Interest income													(237)	(896)	(339)
Interest expense (income)													86,524	64,522	65,161
Income before income taxes													687,404	705,315	640,556
Income taxes													230,118	256,710	238,003
Income from continuing operations	$ 82,174	$ 116,954	$ 121,950	$ 136,208	$ 115,711		$ 115,122		$ 113,447		$ 104,325		457,286	448,605	402,553
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax													23,422	244,915	28,065
Net income													480,708	693,520	430,618
Eliminations
Revenue:
Uniform rental and facility services													(170,960)	(155,260)	(137,199)
Other													(558,802)	(523,118)	(501,902)
Equity in net income of affiliates													(457,286)	(448,605)	(402,553)
Total revenue													(1,187,048)	(1,126,983)	(1,041,654)
Costs and expenses (income):
Cost of uniform rental and facility services													(256,964)	(236,103)	(215,099)
Cost of other													(450,169)	(407,775)	(395,026)
Selling and administrative expenses													(25,614)	(27,075)	(26,310)
G&K Services, Inc. transaction and integration expenses													0
Operating income													(454,301)	(456,030)	(405,219)
Gain on sale of stock of an equity method investment															0
Interest income													2	2	2
Interest expense (income)													0	0	0
Income before income taxes													(454,303)	(456,032)	(405,221)
Income taxes													(101)	(116)	(66)
Income from continuing operations													(454,202)	(455,916)	(405,155)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax													(23,422)	(244,788)	(27,867)
Net income													(477,624)	(700,704)	(433,022)
Cintas Corporation | Reportable Legal Entities
Revenue:
Uniform rental and facility services													0	0	0
Other													0	0	0
Equity in net income of affiliates													457,286	448,605	402,553
Total revenue													457,286	448,605	402,553
Costs and expenses (income):
Cost of uniform rental and facility services													0	0	0
Cost of other													0	0	0
Selling and administrative expenses													0	0	0
G&K Services, Inc. transaction and integration expenses													0
Operating income													457,286	448,605	402,553
Gain on sale of stock of an equity method investment															0
Interest income													0	0	0
Interest expense (income)													0	0	0
Income before income taxes													457,286	448,605	402,553
Income taxes													0	0
Income from continuing operations													457,286	448,605	402,553
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax													23,422	244,915	28,065
Net income													480,708	693,520	430,618
Corp. 2 | Reportable Legal Entities
Revenue:
Uniform rental and facility services													3,511,483	3,147,844	2,919,526
Other													1,604,877	1,484,556	1,303,204
Equity in net income of affiliates													0	0	0
Total revenue													5,116,360	4,632,400	4,222,730
Costs and expenses (income):
Cost of uniform rental and facility services													2,021,365	1,835,835	1,781,651
Cost of other													1,070,780	1,001,576	830,459
Selling and administrative expenses													1,686,209	1,497,106	1,343,361
G&K Services, Inc. transaction and integration expenses													51,868
Operating income													286,138	297,883	267,259
Gain on sale of stock of an equity method investment															0
Interest income													(26)	0	(12)
Interest expense (income)													89,706	65,534	66,298
Income before income taxes													196,458	232,349	200,973
Income taxes													65,829	82,783	74,307
Income from continuing operations													130,629	149,566	126,666
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax													22,287	250,625	23,271
Net income													152,916	400,191	149,937
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities
Revenue:
Uniform rental and facility services													604,679	553,414	507,481
Other													1,810	8,540	(8,173)
Equity in net income of affiliates													0	0	0
Total revenue													606,489	561,954	499,308
Costs and expenses (income):
Cost of uniform rental and facility services													378,404	350,500	271,512
Cost of other													(41,509)	(40,741)	11,028
Selling and administrative expenses													(220,887)	(206,889)	(182,290)
G&K Services, Inc. transaction and integration expenses													19,060
Operating income													471,421	459,084	399,058
Gain on sale of stock of an equity method investment															21,739
Interest income													(191)	(666)	(250)
Interest expense (income)													(2,978)	(1,027)	(1,134)
Income before income taxes													474,590	460,777	422,181
Income taxes													159,025	164,169	156,097
Income from continuing operations													315,565	296,608	266,084
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax													0	0	0
Net income													315,565	296,608	266,084
Non- Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities
Revenue:
Uniform rental and facility services													257,288	213,526	229,391
Other													73,006	66,270	57,349
Equity in net income of affiliates													0	0	0
Total revenue													330,294	279,796	286,740
Costs and expenses (income):
Cost of uniform rental and facility services													164,969	142,601	154,601
Cost of other													56,210	48,539	37,628
Selling and administrative expenses													87,672	69,257	74,523
G&K Services, Inc. transaction and integration expenses													8,296
Operating income													13,147	19,399	19,988
Gain on sale of stock of an equity method investment															0
Interest income													(22)	(232)	(79)
Interest expense (income)													(204)	15	(3)
Income before income taxes													13,373	19,616	20,070
Income taxes													5,365	9,874	7,665
Income from continuing operations													8,008	9,742	12,405
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax													1,135	(5,837)	4,596
Net income													$ 9,143	$ 3,905	$ 17,001

[1] The figures for fiscal 2016 reflect the change in classification of Discontinued Services as discontinued operations within the Consolidated Statements of Income. See Note 16 entitled Discontinued Operations for additional information.