cleanup

1 of 3

noun

clean·​up ˈklēn-ˌəp How to pronounce cleanup (audio)
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

cleanup

2 of 3

adjective

: being in the fourth position in the batting order of a baseball team
a cleanup hitter
cleanup adverb

clean up

3 of 3

verb

cleaned up; cleaning up; cleans up

intransitive verb

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

Examples of cleanup in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

see clean entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1872, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1912, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cleanup was in 1872

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cleanup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleanup. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

cleanup

noun
clean·​up
ˈklē-ˌnəp
: an act or instance of cleaning
helped with the cleanup after the meal

More from Merriam-Webster on cleanup

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