CLEANING (UP) Synonyms: 139 Similar and Opposite Words

cleaning (up)

verb

present participle of clean (up)

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

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as in censoring

to remove objectionable parts from cleaned up the rock star's interview before publishing it in the newspaper

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as in eradicating

to destroy all traces of hurriedly cleaned up the mess that they had created in the kitchen

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleaning (up)

Verb

The couple were seen picking up coffees at Present & Correct and visiting IDEA Books in Soho.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 22 Aug. 2026
Her then husband and the father of her children, Patrick Clancy, was out picking up dinner and stopping at a nearby CVS.

— Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of picking up

Verb

Aguirre’s interviews are carefully edited with bleeps, censoring the ‘cabr—s’, the ‘hijos de p—s’ and ‘carambas’.

— Colin Millar, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Vance asserted that the 2020 election was rigged due to tech companies censoring information.

— Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026

Definition of censoring

Verb

Tlaib is also a prominent critic of Israel; her rhetoric has been chastised by Jewish colleagues as an antisemitic call for eradicating Jews, a charge the congresswoman and her supporters reject.

— Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
That method, called Sterile Insect Technique, was originally successful in eradicating flies from the United States and Central America and pushing the screwworm population back beyond the Darién Gap at the border of Panama and Colombia.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of eradicating

Verb

All of this can lead to higher repair costs, not to mention shortening your vehicle’s lifespan.

— Molly Burford, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
By shortening the standard settlement cycle from two business days to one, the industry aims to reduce risk and improve the use of capital and resources.

— Federico Sendra, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of shortening

Verb

This has triggered a critical internal shift, with advocacy groups noting that the administration is actively erasing the diverse history and cultural representation that national parks protect.

— Kimmie Gordon, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
Around that time, gold and silver had fallen to seven-month lows, erasing some of the gains the metals made during a historic price rally that ended in January of this year.

— Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of erasing

Verb

Shares slumped 16% for a third straight session of losses, wiping out $400 billion in market cap on Monday alone.

— Gail Krishnan, CNBC, 23 June 2026
The prospect of even a mini-Dust Bowl is alarming as the original disaster during the Great Depression sent dust clouds across rural America, wiping out entire communities and triggering mass migration to other parts of the country.

— Jason Ma, Fortune, 21 June 2026

Definition of wiping out

Verb

Some members sought to amend the resolution to call for reforming ICE rather than abolishing it.

— Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 13 Aug. 2026
Some of Hong’s past comments, including calling for the cancellation of Thanksgiving and abolishing the police, have garnered scrutiny in recent days.

— Garrett Downs, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of abolishing

Verb

For a few minutes at each end of that window, the moon’s edge will appear to align with that of the sun, blotting out the star’s fierce light and revealing the wispy corona off to one side.

— Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 6 Apr. 2026
From up in the space shuttle, in 1983, astronaut Sally Ride could see the pollution blotting out her Los Angeles hometown.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026

Definition of blotting out

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“Cleaning (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleaning%20%28up%29. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of cleaning (up)

verb

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