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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3
as in to eradicate
to destroy all traces of
hurriedly cleaned up the mess that they had created in the kitchen
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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)
Max Levy, Denver Post, 11 Apr. 2025
Missing California mom’s family digs for homicide ‘cover-up or cleanup’ as police eye persons of interest.
—Fox News Staff, FOXNews.com, 11 Apr. 2025
Garrett took over for Tylor Megill with two men on and cleanup hitter Andrés Giménez at the plate.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Nearly two weeks after multiple tornadoes hit Gary, the city’s council unanimously approved a resolution to continue an executive order focused on storm cleanup.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
The Jefferson County Board of Health ordered the immediate testing and cleanup of the property along with the removal of tenants March 18.
—Max Levy, Denver Post, 11 Apr. 2025
Missing California mom’s family digs for homicide ‘cover-up or cleanup’ as police eye persons of interest.
—Fox News Staff, FOXNews.com, 11 Apr. 2025
Garrett took over for Tylor Megill with two men on and cleanup hitter Andrés Giménez at the plate.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Nearly two weeks after multiple tornadoes hit Gary, the city’s council unanimously approved a resolution to continue an executive order focused on storm cleanup.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
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The government cannot censor speech that is false but does not lead to a specific, identifiable harm.—
Michael Gregory,
The Conversation,
17 Apr. 2025
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For all its bravado about withstanding the American tariffs, China was also censoring criticisms of its own move to impose retaliatory tariffs.—
David Pierson,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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What to know to recognize the symptoms How to get rid of acid reflux In most cases, acid reflux can actually be eradicated for good.—
Hannah Yasharoff,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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Ease of use The goal of a fruit fly trap is to easily and quickly eradicate your population of fruit flies.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The homicide figures do not include killings that occurred in self-defense or in other circumstances not measured in Chicago police statistics.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2025
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The Senators’ defence and penalty killing played a role in those goals, but Ullmark failed to come up big in contrast to Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Why the wrong spot can shorten the shelf life of your eggs.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
19 Apr. 2025
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Minimally invasive techniques can help shorten healing time and reduce complications.—
Jonathan B. Jassey,
Verywell Health,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Still, the Biden administration erased student loan debt for more than 5 million borrowers through other forgiveness programs.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2025
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While the Yankees made two errors in the game, a pickoff play between Fried and Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base erased a two-base mistake from Oswaldo Cabrera in the fourth.—
Gary Phillips,
Hartford Courant,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
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At least not for Disney, which gave it a brief try and has now meekly implied that for it, profits come before principles.—
Thomas Elias,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2025
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The closure will give Wall Street a brief break after a turbulent week that saw the Dow plunge into the red Thursday, following UnitedHealth's annual profit forecast.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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His exit comes amid pressure on CBS from President Donald Trump, who has sued the network and parent company Paramount for $20 billion over allegations that a 60 Minutes interview last year with then-Vice-President Kamala Harris was deceptively edited.—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2025
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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.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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France belatedly abolished slavery in 1848 in its remaining colonies of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guyana, which are still territories of France today.—
Marlene L. Daut,
The Conversation,
16 Apr. 2025
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The Legislature eliminated parole for nearly everyone imprisoned for crimes committed after Aug. 1, making Louisiana the 17th state in a half-century to abolish parole altogether and the first in 24 years to do so.—
Richard A. Webster,
ProPublica,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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