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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clean (up)
Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 10 Apr. 2026
This technique was used in the cleanup after the Fukushima accident, so desalination systems might be able to adapt to handle the contamination.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
In Sunday’s Freeway Series game against Angels right-hander George Klassen, Freeman was the cleanup hitter with Smith batting fifth.
—Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 24 Mar. 2026
Offensively, the biggest addition was Willson Contreras, who was acquired from the Cardinals and projects as Boston’s new cleanup hitter.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
Directly involved oceangoing vessels were contained for active cleanup operations Friday morning, according to the port.
—Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 10 Apr. 2026
This technique was used in the cleanup after the Fukushima accident, so desalination systems might be able to adapt to handle the contamination.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
In Sunday’s Freeway Series game against Angels right-hander George Klassen, Freeman was the cleanup hitter with Smith batting fifth.
—Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 24 Mar. 2026
Offensively, the biggest addition was Willson Contreras, who was acquired from the Cardinals and projects as Boston’s new cleanup hitter.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
-
The BBC‘s executive complaints unit (ECU) has ruled that failing to censor the N-word during the BAFTAs broadcast in February was indeed a breach of editorial standards, according to Variety.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post were among those that printed the word; others censored it with asterisks or dashes.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Treating the underlying condition eradicates the need for drug treatments that act globally.—
Dr. Patricia Richard,
Hartford Courant,
14 Apr. 2026
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Without widespread vaccine adherence, illnesses that were once eradicated can make a return.—
Sukhman Rekhi,
Verywell Health,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Washington wanted to test if the Iranian command, after seeing the destruction from six weeks of war and the killing of its Supreme Leader, would now bend to its will, experts said.—
Saeed Shah,
Time,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Hezbollah has a new org chart Hezbollah has gone back to basics since that pager attack, and Israel's killing later that same month of Nasrallah, Jihad says.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Such foods may even shorten life.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Officials said the goal is to shorten the sensor-to-shooter timeline by automating detection and engagement steps.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The request by the Justice Department would go a step further and erase all the convictions for extremist group leaders, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who didn’t receive pardons last January.—
Michael Kunzelman,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
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Adam Frazier and Logan O'Hoppe each hit a solo homer off Yankees starter Luis Gil to help the Angels erase an early 3-0 deficit.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That means not only are bondholder profits tax-exempt, but the complexes themselves no longer have to pay property taxes.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Through all the day-to-day noise that can affect investors’ opinions, stock prices tend to move with the direction of corporate profits over the long term.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 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.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Apr. 2026
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The images show women whose likenesses were edited by the AI chatbot to put them in more revealing clothing, such as towels, sports bras, skintight Spider-Woman outfits or bunny costumes.—
David Ingram,
NBC news,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His platform includes defending science and abolishing ICE and the Electoral College.—
Gabriel Debenedetti,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Defunding police is as dumb as abolishing ICE.—
Wendy Murphy,
Boston Herald,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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