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
  • Mahender Makhijani, 44, of Corona del Mar, accused of defrauding an Arizona bank of nearly $100 million, was denied bail Monday after a multiday hearing sought by federal prosecutors.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Summary Todd Burkhalter, CEO of Drive Planning LLC, received a 20-year prison sentence for orchestrating Georgia's largest Ponzi scheme, defrauding over 2,000 investors of $380 million.
    — Steve Weisman, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 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 Model 3 and Model Y adopted less elaborate press-and-pivot handles, helping give the cars their clean, wind-cheating profiles.
    — Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The British-Argentine actor’s point has less to do with her conflicted con artist cheating death numerous times and besting her mobster in-laws, as well as the FBI.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 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 24 Aug. 2026.

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