1
as in to tidy (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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to censor
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 to eradicate
to destroy all traces of
hurriedly cleaned up the mess that they had created in the kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in killing
an exceptionally large return
The couple made a cleanup when they flipped the house.
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Recent Examples of clean (up)
Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
The area was recently inspected for potential designation as a Superfund site, which would allow the federal government to get involved in its cleanup.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 2 Oct. 2025
According to a memo obtained by the Associated Press, operations at select Superfund cleanup sites will also continue, particularly where halting work could pose a risk to human life.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Ideally, then, between smart constellation management, active collision avoidance, and active cleanup, low Earth orbit will become something closer to a regulated and moderated space—much like airspace around major metro areas today.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
While clearing mud out of the car, a volunteer — who was assisting with the cleanup and recovery process — discovered an old Bible inside the Mercedes.
—Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
The area was recently inspected for potential designation as a Superfund site, which would allow the federal government to get involved in its cleanup.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 2 Oct. 2025
According to a memo obtained by the Associated Press, operations at select Superfund cleanup sites will also continue, particularly where halting work could pose a risk to human life.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Ideally, then, between smart constellation management, active collision avoidance, and active cleanup, low Earth orbit will become something closer to a regulated and moderated space—much like airspace around major metro areas today.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
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Apple's action has reignited the debate about what's known as jawboning, when government officials censor speech through intimidation and threats.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
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By monitoring and censoring the titles that libraries can carry, book bans ultimately serve to discredit these institutions’ authority and justify defunding them.—
Alex Wermer-Colan,
The Conversation,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And grocery stores where the majority of customers use these benefits could close, said Gina Plata-Nino, the interim SNAP director for the Food Research and Action Center, a national nonprofit that works to eradicate hunger.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
3 Oct. 2025
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FellinAI‘s first feature, The Sweet Idleness, imagines a world in which machines have eradicated 99% of jobs, leaving humans to a life of leisure.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The best one can cautiously hope for is a pause in the killing in Gaza.—
Ben Wedeman,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
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Avery, 63, has been serving a life sentence since 2007 for the killing of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Managers may hold more cash or shorten deal horizons to meet retail liquidity demands, the speakers concurred.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
3 Oct. 2025
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If the Warriors do make a trade for Adebayo, that would surely shorten up their frontcourt and possibly put them among the title favorites this season.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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Those Padres quickly erased a one-run deficit and eventually won on a walk-off home run by Steve Garvey that remains perhaps the franchise’s greatest moment.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Gas prices could remain elevated depending on the extent of the damage, the speed of production recovery, the timing of imports and traders’ confidence in turning a profit on additional supplies.—
Chaewon Chung,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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The Policing Lab donated the vehicle, and the sheriff’s office used no taxpayer dollars to acquire it, said Edward Prokop, a strategic site liaison with the non-profit.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The creation of this content included the use of AI based on templates created, reviewed and edited by journalists in the newsroom.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Oct. 2025
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Although a text-to-image generation tool primarily, users have been using it to edit photos, create figurines, and recreate old photographs.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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However, when your organization was founded less than 45 years after slavery was abolished, when Black women were still being forced to be wet nurses to the very children of those who oppressed them and lynching was a common occurrence below the Mason-Dixon Line?—
Essence,
Essence,
3 Oct. 2025
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The European Parliament has twice called for Yahaya’s release, asking Nigeria to set an example by abolishing the blasphemy laws under which he has been detained for over five years.—
Sean Nelson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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