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
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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
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as in killing
an exceptionally large return
The couple made a cleanup when they flipped the house.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clean (up)
Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Firing Taylor was the first step in an essential cleanup effort that will take years and require an unprecedented institutional commitment.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's administration is failing to adequately track millions in spending on homeless encampment cleanups, a new city audit finds.
—Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
Pitch in for beach cleanups and learn about ancient reptiles with the Sea Turtle Preservation Society.
—Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Noun
Beach cleanup Calvary Lutheran Church hosts a beach cleanup starting at 9 a.m. April 5.
—Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Firing Taylor was the first step in an essential cleanup effort that will take years and require an unprecedented institutional commitment.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's administration is failing to adequately track millions in spending on homeless encampment cleanups, a new city audit finds.
—Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
Pitch in for beach cleanups and learn about ancient reptiles with the Sea Turtle Preservation Society.
—Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean (up)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clean (up)
Verb
-
According to the report, there were 821 attempts to censor library books across all library types in 2024.—
Andrew Limbong,
NPR,
7 Apr. 2025
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For all its bravado about withstanding the American tariffs, China was also censoring criticisms of its own move to impose retaliatory tariffs.—
David Pierson,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Despite this success, these drugs do not completely eradicate the chronic lung infections that plague individuals with cystic fibrosis.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Mar. 2025
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America has a foreign policy goal of helping eradicate Hamas and global antisemitism, a goal long shared by Republican and Democratic administrations.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The attack sparked outrage on social media, with politicians from the north condemning the killings.—
Dyepkazah Shibayan,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
-
The Homicide Unit is investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing, police said.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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On March 7, a UK judge shortened the sentence of the group’s founder, Roger Hallam, for disrupting a traffic event after an appeal.—
Angelica Villa,
ARTnews.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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Ward shortened his drop and threw a strike in the small sliver of space just before the hash mark.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Right behind was Rory McIlroy, who tried to erase from his memory that sloppy finish in the first round and roared into contention to put the career Grand Slam back into view.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Apr. 2025
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In China, a wide swath of suppliers are likely to see their already narrow margins completely erased, with a new wave of efforts to establish factories in other countries set to begin.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Instead, those companies are more likely to focus services on areas with more people, more places and more profit.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
7 Apr. 2025
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Future events will focus on hitting the profits being made by Walmart, General Mills, Amazon, Target, and McDonalds.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 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.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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Editor's note: Some responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.—
Laura Barrero,
Axios,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R.) has signed legislation to abolish the state’s income tax.—
Douglas Carswell,
National Review,
2 Apr. 2025
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Democrats who previously demanded that the Senate abolish the filibuster are now furious that the party didn’t use it.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clean (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clean%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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