cleanup

1 of 3

noun

clean·​up ˈklēn-ˌəp 

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

Noun

The stick holder can be detached, which allows for easy cleanup. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 17 June 2026

Base officials said the airfield is expected to remain closed until Thursday, as cleanup operations continue after the fiery crash. —Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2026

Adjective

Meanwhile, Ella was explaining to my mother why the teacher had sent a note home with her and recounting how her friend Stacy had played kitchen with a new girl during free time at school and allowed Ella to join them only for the cleanup part. —Chang-Rae Lee, New Yorker, 3 May 2026

Volunteers from the Salvation Army of Arkansas, the American Red Cross, and Baptist Disaster Relief arrived in town throughout the day on Friday to assist with cleanup efforts and support. —Josh Kelly, Oklahoman, 25 Apr. 2026

Verb

To start, Duncan had repeatedly failed in past years to comply with a state order to plug 34 of its wells, records show, causing the department to spend $30,000 to clean up a small fraction of them, including one that was actively leaking oil and salt water. —Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026

One of the major tenets in the Protect College Sports Act, a federal bill designed to clean up the chaos of college athletics, is that coaches no longer will be permitted to change jobs in the middle of the season. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 22 June 2026

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

Rhymes for cleanup

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup
• pickup

Kids Definition

cleanup

noun

clean·​up

ˈklē-ˌnəp

: an act or instance of cleaning

helped with the cleanup after the meal