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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Recent Examples of clean (up)
City News Service, Daily News, 27 Mar. 2026
Padres cleanup man Jackson Merrill, 23, won’t soon forget the education Skubal dealt him.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Chris Welch, Vantage’s director for pre-construction in North America, said the project would have dedicated crews contracted for the cleanup.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026
This concept truck from Jeep was designed with trail maintenance, cartography and cleanup in mind.
—Liam Rappleye, Freep.com, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
The cleanup operation in Canoga Park occurred about two days after city personnel cleared an encampment in a storm drain in South Los Angeles near the Harbor (110) Freeway.
—City News Service, Daily News, 27 Mar. 2026
Padres cleanup man Jackson Merrill, 23, won’t soon forget the education Skubal dealt him.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Chris Welch, Vantage’s director for pre-construction in North America, said the project would have dedicated crews contracted for the cleanup.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 26 Mar. 2026
This concept truck from Jeep was designed with trail maintenance, cartography and cleanup in mind.
—Liam Rappleye, Freep.com, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
-
Our children’s academic curricula will be actually censored.—
Aidin Vaziri,
San Francisco Chronicle,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Our children’s academic curricula will actually be censored.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But medication doesn’t eradicate the virus.—
Romy Ellenbogen,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Measles, once eradicated, has grown to 1,300 cases since an outbreak last year.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
On Monday, the Contra Costa DA's Office said in a press release that Howard Wang now faces an additional murder charge for the June 2024 killing of 41-year-old Chengli Li in Los Angeles County.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
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Three unsolved homicides — the April, 3, 2022 killings of 22-year-old Brandon Alexander Cheese and 20-year-old Kieran Carlson in San Francisco — as well as the June 2022 killing of Leandre Hubbard in North Richmond, were attributed to this feud.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The early transition reflects a broader reality across Summit County, where thin snowpack and warm temperatures have shortened the ski season and pushed some winter operations to close early.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The change significantly shortens the timeframe for filing claims — meaning passengers must act quickly after arriving at their destination.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
No amount of money or formal resolution can erase the pain caused by a prosecution that should never have been brought.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
-
As a result, Cleveland dominated the third quarter 37-20 to erase Miami’s 21-point lead and enter the fourth quarter with the game tied at 83-83.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The House bill, which takes aim at members of Congress and executive branch officials like the president, seeks to take the potential for profit out of decision-making by public officials.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
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The company would then charge more for those loans to ensure profit even in cases where borrowers ultimately failed to keep up with payments, according to internal emails and a slide deck that described findings in the multistate investigation.—
Conrad Wilson,
ProPublica,
25 Mar. 2026
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,
25 Mar. 2026
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In ‘Kansas City,’ Altman shot an entire concert in this club and then edited it into the flow of the film, where the musicians are providing a Greek chorus to all the shenanigans that are going on with the white characters.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Calls to abolish the bases have been raised previously, particularly when they are used for military action in the region.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The program is funded by $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, which the county is using to abolish millions in medical debt for thousands of residents across the county.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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