clean out

verb

cleaned out; cleaning out; cleans out

1

: to remove unwanted things from (a room, closet, etc.)

We spent the weekend cleaning out the garage.

2

informal : to steal or take everything from (someone or something)

The thieves broke in and cleaned out the store.

3

informal : to use up all or most of the money of (someone)

Buying the house really cleaned us out. Now we're broke.

Examples of clean out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Brush guards trap pine needles within their bristles, forcing you to remove the entire brush to clean out clogged dirt. — Nick Perry, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026

Instead, that process was based on a predictable pattern, allowing hackers who possessed a sample seed phrase to use trial-and-error to guess others—and clean out Coldcard owners in the process. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Here are the best places to donate clothes after cleaning out your closet. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2026

Staffers filled the bubble near Beaver Stadium in the winter and Pegula Ice Rink in the spring with an everything-must-go Nike clean out. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for clean out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout