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 There’s always somebody cleaning, a chef, nannies, assistants. — Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026 Plainly put, consumers buy toothpaste, groceries, and cleaning supplies regardless of macro or micro economic stress. — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026 Airbnb is changing its house rules, including limiting the cleaning tasks hosts can ask guests to complete during their stay. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 Always follow the instructions on a cleaning product’s bottle for the best results. — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2026 The lid for covering food on the grill and the magnetic wall strip for knife and utensil storage lack cleaning. — Nwa Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026 Performing basic maintenance and cleaning the system shouldn’t be too difficult. — Michael Justin Allen Sexton, PC Magazine, 17 Oct. 2026 My mom enrolled as a junior at Hollywood High School and took care of the house—cleaning, reheating frozen chicken pot pies, and making sure everyone did their homework. — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026 How to Clean Your Fridge Interior With Vinegar Cleaning your fridge’s interior is just important as cleaning its exterior. — Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 16 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleaning

Verb

The company dispensed with its DEI disclosures to investors, scrubbing any references to goals and resources aimed at boosting diversity at the company.

— Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Let everything sit on your toilet bowl for a while before scrubbing gently and finally flushing your toilet.

— Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of scrubbing

Verb

Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramaric scored the club's 1,000th Bundesliga goal, and Alexander Prass was sent off after removing his shirt to celebrate his goal while already booked.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
The takeaway here is that removing debris from orbit requires careful planning.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of removing

Verb

Casual, wide-leg styles also prevailed here, and tonal floral embroidery adorned some styles up the side of the leg, drawing the eye in without creating distraction.

— Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 26 Oct. 2026
Talarico also stated his opposition to transgender student-athletes competing in girls’ sports in a Fox News interview in September, drawing progressive criticism.

— Emma Specter, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of drawing

Verb

In the Johnson administration, that has taken a back seat to extracting cash from those deemed by these redistributionists as having too much of it.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
For supporters, the proposal represents an emergency fiscal response aimed at temporarily extracting revenue from unprecedented concentrations of wealth.

— Trevor Laurence Jockims, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of extracting

Verb

Airbnb guests can say goodbye to checkout chores like washing dishes, stripping beds and taking out the trash under a new policy announced this week.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
An employee handled dirty utensils and dishes with gloves on and later handled clean dishes with those same gloves without washing hands in between.

— Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of washing

Verb

Leslie took issue with a recent stunt Kennedy had pulled at the hospital, which involved making a surprise appearance for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open his signature vaccine injury clinic.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images American Express is cutting thousands of employees as the leading credit card company prepares for artificial intelligence to take over more of its internal processes.

— Hugh Son, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026