1
: an act or instance of cleaning
The children helped with the cleanup.
2
: an exceptionally large profit
made a cleanup [=killing] when he sold his stocks
: being in the fourth position in the batting order of a baseball team
a cleanup hitter
cleanup
adverb
cleaned up; cleaning up; cleans up
1
: to make a spectacular profit in a business enterprise or a killing in speculation or gambling
2
: to become free of drug or alcohol addiction
I always cleaned up for tours. … By the end of the tour, I'm perfectly clean and should have stayed sober.—
Keith Richards
Keith RichardsExamples of cleanup in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025
The interior is finished with a multi-layer, non-stick coating to prevent your food from sticking to the bottom, which makes cleanup a breeze.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 10 Oct. 2025
Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Officials declined to specify how frequently troops have been tasked with cleanup duties, but emphasized the effort supports community improvement alongside public safety operations.
—Amanda Castro
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Whereas criminal suspects in this past may have been incriminated by a Google query on, say, how to clean up bloodstains, a more comprehensive, detailed back-and-forth with a tool like ChatGPT gives investigators far more opportunities to prove intent and mindset, Lee explains.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleanup
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Noun
But almost from its start, industry has targeted the program, whose assessments can trigger toxic waste cleanups and expensive regulatory changes.
—Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025
The interior is finished with a multi-layer, non-stick coating to prevent your food from sticking to the bottom, which makes cleanup a breeze.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
The Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Ship Canal — located in East Chicago — were polluted from more than a century of industrial and municipal wastewater discharges, and caused multiple grassroots organizations to advocate for cleanup measures along the river.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
Officials declined to specify how frequently troops have been tasked with cleanup duties, but emphasized the effort supports community improvement alongside public safety operations.
—Amanda Castro
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
A lot for the Senators to clean up.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Whereas criminal suspects in this past may have been incriminated by a Google query on, say, how to clean up bloodstains, a more comprehensive, detailed back-and-forth with a tool like ChatGPT gives investigators far more opportunities to prove intent and mindset, Lee explains.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleanup
Cite this Entry
“Cleanup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleanup. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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