CLEANING Synonyms: 62 Similar and Opposite Words

cleaning

verb

present participle of clean

as in scrubbing

to remove the dirt from we cleaned the clothes before donating them to charity

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in removing

to take the internal organs out of cleaned the rabbit before cooking it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cleaning Christina Monde, Pasadena’s city project manager for the Arroyo Seco project, attributed some of the opposition to misconceptions, such as that Pasadena is cleaning the water in order to irrigate a golf course. — Mack Baysinger follow, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026 Any small scraps left behind after cleaning can also cause sparks during cooking. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 July 2026 His dad came up with the idea of taking the neighbors’ trash cans out on garbage day and cleaning them. — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 25 July 2026 According to Johannes, that lifespan is expected to be between 20 and 25 years while requiring only minimal routine maintenance, largely focused on cleaning the solar panels. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026 Ahead, cleaning experts share their best tips for cleaning a microwave with a lemon and preventing future buildup. — Colleen Sullivan, Martha Stewart, 25 July 2026 Over the years, state agencies and local governments have made attempts at cleaning Lake Jesup but none have been enough to turn the tide. — Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026 In addition to going after pollutants at the source, cleaning the air is another important step. — Dr. Lauren Zajac, Boston Herald, 19 July 2026 Among the existing methods for cleaning flesh off a specimen is chemical treatment, but that tends to be bad for the environment and can degrade the skeleton. — Ari Daniel, NPR, 17 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleaning

Verb

SpaceX is planning to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites into low orbit on Tuesday after scrubbing the mission before takeoff on Monday.

— Lora Kolodny,Samantha Subin, CNBC, 21 July 2026
For hard-to-remove dirt, let the soapy solution sit for a few minutes before scrubbing.

— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 18 July 2026

Definition of scrubbing

Verb

Leaders add value by asking better questions, widening perspectives, connecting people, allocating resources and removing the obstacles that slow great work.

— Brent McHugh, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
The state added women to the workforce without removing men from their role as sole providers.

— Wael Mahdi, semafor.com, 21 July 2026

Definition of removing

Verb

They’ve been seen, for example, corralling schools of rays, creating waves to push penguins from ice blocks and extracting the livers of white sharks.

— Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 23 July 2026
Previously, extracting valuable data from customer conversations was cumbersome.

— Anna Convery, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of extracting

Verb

Germany’s biggest automaker is planning a massive restructuring and cost-cutting program in response to intensifying competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers and higher tariffs on its exports to the United States.

— Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
This past winter, Madison lawmakers shot down a budget proposal that would have paid for a body camera program by cutting funds to the monitor.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 July 2026