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

As many as two dozen died and Staten Islanders were livid at a botched cleanup. —Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026

Community leaders have pushed for extending the cleanup area to remove hidden threats in those areas, even as many still worry about residents whose properties already have been cleared. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026

Adjective

Johnston said some of the risks could’ve been avoided if the state committed to proper safeguards, such as post-cleanup sampling, sooner. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026

Indiana state officials on Friday continued to survey tornado damage in Lake Village, after two people were killed in Tuesday's storms, though strong winds made cleanup efforts that much more difficult. —Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2026

Verb

At the time, Kansas City police chief and former FBI agent Lear Reed was on a campaign to clean up the police force and remove the lingering influences of Pendergast. —Patrick Salland, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2026

There is, of course, less cleaning up going on than cleaning out. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 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