clean up
verb
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 clean up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Obviously, there are multiple things in this outing that need to be cleaned up.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 8 June 2026
What if cleaning up one of these problems could also help clean up the other?
—ArsTechnica, 8 June 2026
Later, he was appointed to the job to clean up the mess left by Citron, and went on to be elected multiple times.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 8 June 2026
Honeywell also cleaned up its EPS guidance by excluding the aerospace business, removing the impact of recently public Quantinuum, and accounting for pension and separation-related costs.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean up
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Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 8 June 2026
What if cleaning up one of these problems could also help clean up the other?
—ArsTechnica, 8 June 2026
Later, he was appointed to the job to clean up the mess left by Citron, and went on to be elected multiple times.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 8 June 2026
Honeywell also cleaned up its EPS guidance by excluding the aerospace business, removing the impact of recently public Quantinuum, and accounting for pension and separation-related costs.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean up
Cite this Entry
“Clean up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20up. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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