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 Yankees may be down a few sluggers entering the postseason, however, they certainly are equipped with a player capable of picking up some of the slack.

— James O'Connell, New York Daily News, 24 Sep. 2026
Now the former child phenom is accused of picking up a permanent marker and scrawling antisemitic graffiti on Southern California homes, according to authorities.

— Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of picking up

Verb

Earlier in the week, Kraft allegedly led a pressure campaign to force the Seattle rapper off Ed Sheeran’s The Loop Tour, igniting a firestorm of backlash from artists and fans accusing Kraft of censoring Macklemore’s free speech.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
Beijing, for its part, maintains a series of firewalls that—in addition to surveilling and censoring the Chinese people—protect Chinese networks from American offensive intrusions.

— ANNE NEUBERGER, Foreign Affairs, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of censoring

Verb

Community meetings focus on eradicating the homeless and protecting property values rather than supporting neighbors or providing shelter.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026
Back then, researchers were focused on eradicating the New World screwworm, a nasty pest that lays its eggs in wounds on living creatures.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of eradicating

Verb

Moving those activities later into the day could create new operational challenges while shortening the prime hours that many skiers prefer.

— Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026
Newsom also signed Senate Bill 186, which would strengthen the current tax incentive program by shortening the payout schedule for cash refunds and increasing the total refundable amount of unused tax credits.

— Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of shortening

Verb

Some Italian Americans assert that Columbus Day is at its core a celebration of our heritage, and that changing the name would be akin to erasing our history.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026
Treating those experiences as interchangeable risks erasing the sacrifice behind one of them.

— Angelette C. Aviles, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 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 advocate abolishing the agency, while others offer visions for how to rein it in and reform it.

— Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
Now, Xi remains in office after purging political rivals, abolishing presidential term limits and consolidating power.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 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

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.

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Style

“Cleaning (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleaning%20%28up%29. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of cleaning (up)

verb

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