cleaning (out)

verb

present participle of clean (out)
as in defrauding

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleaning (out)
  1. defrauding
  2. shortchanging
  3. cheating
Verb
  • Uhls kept defrauding people into 2026, even after he was contacted by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in March and searched by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation in June, records state.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2026
  • Last month, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.
    — Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026
Definition of defrauding
Verb
  • Ohio lawmakers approved an $875 million payment package Wednesday after the Ohio Supreme Court found the state used the wrong formula to calculate certain Medicaid reimbursements for nursing homes, shortchanging providers by hundreds of millions of dollars.
    — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 11 June 2026
  • Despite all of this, the market is still trying to figure out what Millrose is worth, and at around 9 times AFFO, Wall Street still might be shortchanging the REIT.
    — Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
Definition of shortchanging
Verb
  • The president used California, a favorite target, to hint that Democrats were cheating.
    — Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2026
  • The pair began arguing in Williams’ bedroom, during which Jones shut the door and could be heard accusing her of cheating, per the release.
    — Eleanor Jacobs, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026
Definition of cheating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

cleaning (off)
cleaning (out)
cleaning (up)
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Cite this Entry

“Cleaning (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleaning%20%28out%29. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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