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)
Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 10 Apr. 2026
This technique was used in the cleanup after the Fukushima accident, so desalination systems might be able to adapt to handle the contamination.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
In Sunday’s Freeway Series game against Angels right-hander George Klassen, Freeman was the cleanup hitter with Smith batting fifth.
—Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 24 Mar. 2026
Offensively, the biggest addition was Willson Contreras, who was acquired from the Cardinals and projects as Boston’s new cleanup hitter.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
Directly involved oceangoing vessels were contained for active cleanup operations Friday morning, according to the port.
—Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 10 Apr. 2026
This technique was used in the cleanup after the Fukushima accident, so desalination systems might be able to adapt to handle the contamination.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
In Sunday’s Freeway Series game against Angels right-hander George Klassen, Freeman was the cleanup hitter with Smith batting fifth.
—Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 24 Mar. 2026
Offensively, the biggest addition was Willson Contreras, who was acquired from the Cardinals and projects as Boston’s new cleanup hitter.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
-
The BBC‘s executive complaints unit (ECU) has ruled that failing to censor the N-word during the BAFTAs broadcast in February was indeed a breach of editorial standards, according to Variety.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post were among those that printed the word; others censored it with asterisks or dashes.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Treating the underlying condition eradicates the need for drug treatments that act globally.—
Dr. Patricia Richard,
Hartford Courant,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Without widespread vaccine adherence, illnesses that were once eradicated can make a return.—
Sukhman Rekhi,
Verywell Health,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Washington wanted to test if the Iranian command, after seeing the destruction from six weeks of war and the killing of its Supreme Leader, would now bend to its will, experts said.—
Saeed Shah,
Time,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Hezbollah has a new org chart Hezbollah has gone back to basics since that pager attack, and Israel's killing later that same month of Nasrallah, Jihad says.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Such foods may even shorten life.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Officials said the goal is to shorten the sensor-to-shooter timeline by automating detection and engagement steps.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
After Jake Cronenworth walked to start the sixth and was erased on Ramón Laureano’s fielder’s choice grounder, Tatis grounded a single through the left side to give the Padres runners at first and second.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
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Those charges were ultimately dropped and were supposed to be erased from public disclosure, the lawsuit said.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Wainwright alleges that the company started putting profits over people, which is when problems began to escalate.—
Terell Bailey,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The Public Service Commission has approved a flurry of rate hikes in recent years as private utilities grapple with maintaining profits while improving infrastructure in a mountainous, sparsely populated state.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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,
14 Apr. 2026
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The images show women whose likenesses were edited by the AI chatbot to put them in more revealing clothing, such as towels, sports bras, skintight Spider-Woman outfits or bunny costumes.—
David Ingram,
NBC news,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Two weeks later, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile in Iraq and led a drive to abolish the monarchy and proclaim an Islamic government.—
Jeffrey Fields,
The Conversation,
4 Apr. 2026
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The clock ran out on a bill aimed at moving Georgia to a new time zone, ending supporters’ hopes of abolishing the chore of changing the clocks twice per year.—
Caleb Groves,
AJC.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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