1
as in tidying (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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in censoring
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 eradicating
to destroy all traces of
hurriedly cleaned up the mess that they had created in the kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleaning (up)
Verb
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Faculty and civil rights groups warn censoring such topics is a violation of academic freedom.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
16 Feb. 2026 -
His remarks appeared to be aimed in part at providing a message of unity after Vance from the same stage last year launched a blistering attack on European leaders, accusing them of censoring free speech, failing to control immigration and not doing enough to protect the region militarily.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While the president’s focus seems to be on eradicating African Americans and our contributions from America and its culture, his hate campaign doesn’t stop with African Americans.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
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The agency was finding and eradicating cannabis grows in national forests effectively.—
Rachel Becker,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Fishman and Redford are far more interested in whiz-bang filters and digital effects, distractions to appeal to short-form entertainment devotees, which had the ironic side effect of wildly shortening my interest.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
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Most of the speakers said the solution to lengthy meetings is to meet more often, as the commissioners used to, not shortening the number of times public commenters can sign up.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That has led, in part, to some talk of a salary cap and a potential lockout perhaps erasing the entire 2027 season.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Shoppers are picking up essentials early, aiming to avoid last-minute trips if roads become unsafe.—
Nicole Nielsen,
CBS News,
23 Jan. 2026
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Trent Perry is picking up the slack for the UCLA basketball team.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Outdoor Voices, once the toast of the category, faded into restructuring, wiping out its entire social media presence.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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At least 61,000 people living in the Gaza Strip have died in Israel’s subsequent military campaign aimed at wiping out Hamas and recovering the hostages.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Success will be measured by progress toward abolishing property taxes, restoring public trust, improving infrastructure reliability, reducing corruption, and overall approval from the people of Texas.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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Authoritarian states have learned to insulate themselves from diaspora pressure while simultaneously using emigration as a safety valve, turning potential dissidents into remittance-senders – as Cuba did by abolishing exit visas in 2013.—
Michael Paarlberg,
The Conversation,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And Hanceville’s fate is as murky as the fog that pours in at night, blotting out buildings and blackening the road ahead.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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But two shootings of US citizens and scenes of unrest in Minnesota are blotting out any hope of that.—
Shelby Talcott,
semafor.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Cleaning (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleaning%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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