Synonyms of clean (up)

clean (up) 1 of 2

verb

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tidy (up)
• clean house
• set straight
• straighten (up)
• pick up
• order
• arrange
• clean (off)
• police (up)
• turn out
• houseclean
• housekeep
• neaten
• unclutter

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• mess (up)
• clutter
• disarrange

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

• censor
• shorten
• edit
• delete
• review
• cut (out)
• expurgate
• red-pencil
• launder
• bowdlerize
• purge
• cleanse
• purify
• suppress
• examine
• silence
• expunge
• abbreviate
• excise
• repress
• condemn
• gut
• blue-pencil
• scrutinize
• screen
• x (out)
• black out
• denounce
• bleep
• censure
• blip

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• authorize
• approve
• sanction

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

• eradicate
• erase
• abolish
• wipe out
• destroy
• sweep (away)
• blot out
• stamp (out)
• obliterate
• exterminate
• annihilate
• expunge
• root (out)
• rub out
• cancel
• snuff (out)
• efface
• liquidate
• extirpate
• shatter
• demolish
• kill
• black out
• tear down
• mow (down)
• ruin
• dismantle
• consume
• kill off
• blow up
• discard
• flatten
• waste
• dissolve
• fragment
• devastate
• powder
• wreck
• ravage
• total
• throw out
• decimate
• smash
• expel
• finish
• dash
• eject
• devour
• ditch
• raze
• terminate
• blast
• excise
• doom
• oust
• dynamite
• pulverize
• cut
• zap
• atomize
• splinter
• jettison

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protect
• save
• preserve
• conserve
• build
• create
• make
• form
• construct
• shape
• manufacture
• rebuild
• frame
• forge
• repair
• fabricate
• restore
• fix
• reconstruct
• renew
• patch
• fashion
• renovate
• mend
• revamp
• recondition

cleanup

2 of 2

noun

as in killing

an exceptionally large return

The couple made a cleanup when they flipped the house.

Related Words

• killing
• profit
• sales
• payoff
• payment
• windfall
• proceeds
• net
• earnings
• bottom line
• gain
• gross
• salary
• pay
• wages
• compensation
• lucre
• income
• revenue
• remittal
• yield
• emolument
• interest
• requital

Dissimilar Words

• cost
• loss
• expense
• charge
• expenditure
• disbursement
• outlay
• outgo

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of clean (up)

Noun

The Board of Commissioners is expected to come out with a statement in the coming days on the cleanup plan. — Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026

Boeing is our way to get some defense exposure, but our main reason for owning it is for the cleanup of its commercial plane business. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026

In each case, the full scope of the public health risks didn't emerge until people started moving back in and cleanup got underway. — Kirk Siegler, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026

Mahajan had participated in the cleanup efforts the day before. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026