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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to censor
to remove objectionable parts from
cleaned up the rock star's interview before publishing it in the newspaper
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in killing
an exceptionally large return
The couple made a cleanup when they flipped the house.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clean (up)
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2025
There was Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, striking out eight Dodgers in the first three innings, but being undone by that third inning, when Betts — who had been dropped in the lineup, down to the cleanup spot — followed a Smith RBI double with a two-run single to make it 3-0 Dodgers.
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
Opening your windows or door, if possible, whether first thing in the morning, while cooking, or even during your after-dinner cleanup, can help wipe out any odors that might be lingering in your space, leaving behind the natural allure of the great outdoors.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2025
The death toll from heavy floods in central Vietnam has risen to 13, the government said Friday, as residents of the flooded city of Hoi An started cleanup operations as the water levels began to subside.
—Reuters, NBC news, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
The study’s insights could help scientists model pollutant persistence and even engineer better cleanup materials inspired by these minerals.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2025
There was Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, striking out eight Dodgers in the first three innings, but being undone by that third inning, when Betts — who had been dropped in the lineup, down to the cleanup spot — followed a Smith RBI double with a two-run single to make it 3-0 Dodgers.
—Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
Opening your windows or door, if possible, whether first thing in the morning, while cooking, or even during your after-dinner cleanup, can help wipe out any odors that might be lingering in your space, leaving behind the natural allure of the great outdoors.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2025
The death toll from heavy floods in central Vietnam has risen to 13, the government said Friday, as residents of the flooded city of Hoi An started cleanup operations as the water levels began to subside.
—Reuters, NBC news, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
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Back then, Comedy Central responded by heavily censoring the episodes — bleeping all mentions of Muhammad’s name and removing key dialogue — and later pulled them from streaming platforms and reruns entirely.—
Peter Kiefer,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
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In 2022, the US also greenlit Starlink service for Iran after the country’s government moved to heavily censor the internet.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Spider mites create webs and can be eradicated with miticide spray.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Just last week, a professor who taught at Harvard for 40 years slammed the school for its ideological homogeneity after finishing his last semester, saying that graduate programs were denying White male applicants on racial grounds and that Western civilization courses were being eradicated.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Several hundred people gathered in downtown Dallas on Thursday evening to protest the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis by an ICE agent the day before.—
Emily Holshouser,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Jan. 2026
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The action was in response to the killing of Renee Nicole Good, 37, who was shot while in her vehicle by an ICE agent conducting arrests in a residential area of Minneapolis.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The engines, flight profiles, and countermeasure requirements vary by design, but all shorten warning and decision timelines for defenders.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
-
This shift would aim to shorten lead times and reduce tariff uncertainty while maintaining the company’s certification standards for recycled and low-impact materials, Talbot said.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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After an incredible 20 minutes last weekend that saw the Broncos erase a 24-point deficit at San Diego State to tie the game 79-79 in the final seconds, Andrews found the ball in his hands on the final possession of the game.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
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These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The back of the envelope valuation for creator businesses is six times profit, Claire Geddie, Director of Creator Partnerships at investment outfit Electrify told the crowd.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Four years ago, the Panama Papers, a massive leak of documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, revealed how the rich and devious evade taxes and launder profits through opaque offshore shell companies.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The creation of this content included the use of AI based on templates created, reviewed and edited by journalists in the newsroom.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Condensed and edited by Rebecca Kilroy.—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The FairTax Act of 2025 was the latest bid to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace income tax and other levies with a national sales tax.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Jan. 2026
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During his campaign, Mamdani pledged to keep the NYPD’s headcount flat, abolish the department’s controversial Strategic Response Group and get rid of its gang database — all proposals opposed by Tisch, who supports hiring more cops.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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