Synonyms of clean (up)

clean (up) 1 of 2

verb

1

as in to tidy (up)

to make a place neat and orderly by removing extraneous stuff

you're expected to clean up after you use the workroom

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tidy (up)
• clean house
• set straight
• straighten (up)
• pick up
• order
• arrange
• clean (off)
• police (up)
• turn out
• houseclean
• housekeep
• neaten
• unclutter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• mess (up)
• clutter
• disarrange

2

as in to censor

to remove objectionable parts from

cleaned up the rock star's interview before publishing it in the newspaper

Synonyms & Similar Words

• censor
• shorten
• edit
• delete
• review
• cut (out)
• expurgate
• red-pencil
• launder
• bowdlerize
• purge
• cleanse
• purify
• suppress
• examine
• silence
• expunge
• abbreviate
• excise
• repress
• condemn
• gut
• blue-pencil
• scrutinize
• screen
• x (out)
• black out
• denounce
• bleep
• censure
• blip

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• authorize
• approve
• sanction

3

as in to eradicate

to destroy all traces of

hurriedly cleaned up the mess that they had created in the kitchen

Synonyms & Similar Words

• eradicate
• erase
• abolish
• wipe out
• destroy
• sweep (away)
• blot out
• stamp (out)
• obliterate
• exterminate
• annihilate
• expunge
• root (out)
• rub out
• cancel
• snuff (out)
• efface
• liquidate
• extirpate
• shatter
• demolish
• kill
• black out
• tear down
• mow (down)
• ruin
• dismantle
• consume
• kill off
• blow up
• discard
• flatten
• waste
• dissolve
• fragment
• devastate
• powder
• wreck
• ravage
• total
• throw out
• decimate
• smash
• expel
• finish
• dash
• eject
• devour
• ditch
• raze
• terminate
• blast
• excise
• doom
• oust
• dynamite
• pulverize
• cut
• zap
• atomize
• splinter
• jettison

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protect
• save
• preserve
• conserve
• build
• create
• make
• form
• construct
• shape
• manufacture
• rebuild
• frame
• forge
• repair
• fabricate
• restore
• fix
• reconstruct
• renew
• patch
• fashion
• renovate
• mend
• revamp
• recondition

cleanup

2 of 2

noun

as in killing

an exceptionally large return

The couple made a cleanup when they flipped the house.

Related Words

• killing
• profit
• sales
• payoff
• payment
• windfall
• proceeds
• net
• earnings
• bottom line
• gain
• gross
• salary
• pay
• wages
• compensation
• lucre
• income
• revenue
• remittal
• yield
• emolument
• interest
• requital

Dissimilar Words

• cost
• loss
• expense
• charge
• expenditure
• disbursement
• outlay
• outgo

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of clean (up)

Noun

Here, Forbes Technology Council members share essential checkup and cleanup items smartphone users should regularly review to boost their devices’ security and performance. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026

As that deadline was set to expire Thursday, the company removed a tracker on its website that had been providing updates on the progress of the cleanup effort. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Wetherholt hasn’t started a game anywhere but the leadoff spot, while Stewart was the team’s Opening Day cleanup hitter and more recently settled into the second spot in the lineup. — C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

The agreement was reached within two years of a formal pollution report and accelerated coordinated cleanup efforts. — Samhita M Ilango, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026