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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Especially at Louisville, just making that big jump, picking up full court, just being a dog, being scrappy, getting through screens, just everything like that.
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Reese looked cooked after picking up four quick fouls in the first half, spending way too much time riding the pine.
Verb
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Professors are censoring themselves in lectures and rewriting syllabuses.
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Residents began self-censoring in private chats and deleting posts out of fear of reprisal.
Verb
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Frustratingly, Rubus armeniacus is notoriously difficult to get rid of, as traditional approaches to invasive management such as fire, herbicide, and mowing are insufficient at eradicating the plant.
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Incomplete or inappropriate antibiotic courses amplify this effect by exposing bacteria to sub-therapeutic drug concentrations without eradicating them.
Verb
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The changes allow some large IPOs to become eligible for the Nasdaq-100 after just 15 trading days, dramatically shortening what had historically been a far longer waiting period.
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In plain terms, Tau Scaling asks whether performance gains can come not only from shrinking the node, but from shortening the distance data travels, reducing resistance and capacitance, and coordinating hardware and software around latency.
Verb
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Maybe Destiny 2 needed to end at some point, but there’s a difference between that and announcing the next stage of the IP, and erasing it from existence and laying off the hundreds of talented team members still making great content right down to the last minute.
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Electronic dance music scholars have noted that countercultural scenes have shifted into a global industry, reshaping or erasing local meanings in favor of commercialization.
Verb
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Shares slumped 16% for a third straight session of losses, wiping out $400 billion in market cap on Monday alone.
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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.
Verb
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Among the subjects Avila Chevalier says Democrats should focus on are affordability, federal budgets focused on aiding working people, and a more just immigration system — including abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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Avila Chevalier survived a deluge of attacks for previous social media posts that called for abolishing the police and prisons.
Verb
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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.
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From up in the space shuttle, in 1983, astronaut Sally Ride could see the pollution blotting out her Los Angeles hometown.
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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 29 Jun. 2026.
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