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
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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)
Carley Rojas Ávila, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure officially reopened in November after storm cleanup.
—Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2025
The Red Sox will go with the same top four in their lineup as in Wednesday’s walk-off win, with Jarren Duran leading off, Trevor Story batting second, Alex Bregman third and Masataka Yoshida cleanup.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Joseph Miller, a 79-year-old cleanup man at the bar, was beaten the night of the robbery, according to court records stored in the Archives of Michigan.
—Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
Now, the brand is bringing opportunity to the area, while using 97% green energy in its production and donating part of its profits to fund the cleanup of the river after which it is named.
—Carley Rojas Ávila, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure officially reopened in November after storm cleanup.
—Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2025
The Red Sox will go with the same top four in their lineup as in Wednesday’s walk-off win, with Jarren Duran leading off, Trevor Story batting second, Alex Bregman third and Masataka Yoshida cleanup.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Joseph Miller, a 79-year-old cleanup man at the bar, was beaten the night of the robbery, according to court records stored in the Archives of Michigan.
—Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
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Last year, Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit against Unilever, accusing the parent company of censoring its public statements to support Palestinian refugees and resolutions to end military aid to Israel.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
17 Sep. 2025
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The sanctions imposed against the Iranian regime should encompass all sectors, including the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which continues to censor and suppress artistic freedom.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Policymakers can acknowledge the complicated history of vaccines, public health and race, while also recognizing how advancements in science and medicine have given us the opportunity to eradicate many of these diseases in the United States today.—
Stacie Kershner,
The Conversation,
22 Sep. 2025
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The drop-off between the starting player and his backup was still too great in some areas of Arsenal’s squad last season, but that has now been eradicated.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The killing of Kirk comes amid a wave of political violence.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
25 Sep. 2025
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The Daily Dividend Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show returned to air last night after a nearly weeklong a pause following the comedian's comments about Charlie Kirk's killing.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The organizations that master this shift will shorten time-to-market, reduce costs and accelerate innovation cycles.—
John Akkara,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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Perhaps the biggest change, though, is that the average length of a game has been shortened by more than a half hour.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The surge of activity at the memorial fits into a wider Republican push to erase Democrats’ registration advantages in battleground states.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Sep. 2025
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Bulsara was desperate to transform himself in that mold, to erase his recent past as a gawky, shy, bucktoothed kid .—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Like many political advocacy groups, it’s organized as a 501(c)3 non-profit; the IRS does not require such groups to publicly disclose detailed expenditure accounts.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
20 Sep. 2025
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Eras Tour concert movie from filmmaker Sam Wrench made a profit of $172M net, and that was with a $75M streaming deal on Disney+.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
24 Sep. 2025
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While introducing the feature on the Pixel 10 last month, Google noted that each image edited using AI on Google Photos will carry an invisible watermark.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, California has made moves to abolish biannual clock changes.—
Hannah Poukish
September 23,
Sacbee.com,
23 Sep. 2025
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To preserve slavery in its territories, Britain failed to officially recognize Haitian independence until 1838, when slavery was fully abolished in its colonies.—
Marlene L. Daut
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 27 Sep. 2025.
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