1
: an act or instance of cleaning
The children helped with the cleanup.
2
: an exceptionally large profit
made a cleanup [=killing] when he sold his stocks
: being in the fourth position in the batting order of a baseball team
a cleanup hitter
cleanup
adverb
cleaned up; cleaning up; cleans up
1
: to make a spectacular profit in a business enterprise or a killing in speculation or gambling
2
: to become free of drug or alcohol addiction
I always cleaned up for tours. … By the end of the tour, I'm perfectly clean and should have stayed sober.—
Keith Richards
Keith RichardsExamples of cleanup in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2025
United Illuminating and Eversource, the state’s two largest electric providers, each brought in hundreds of out-of-state linesman to restore power and help in the cleanup effort.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2025
Colleen E. Reid, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025
In the immediate aftermath, Joe returned to Ground Zero to assist with cleanup efforts.
—Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2025
Colm Tóibín, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2025
An accident at the WIPP site several years ago took 3 years to repair and cost upwards of $1 billion to clean up—all this caused by leakage from a single storage drum.
—Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleanup
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Noun
There has never been dispute over whether the factory released or spilled the chemical at its property, where limited cleanups have been conducted since the early 2000s.
—Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Feb. 2025
United Illuminating and Eversource, the state’s two largest electric providers, each brought in hundreds of out-of-state linesman to restore power and help in the cleanup effort.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
Keep people with heart or lung diseases, older adults, pregnant women, children and pets away from cleanup activities.
—Colleen E. Reid, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025
In the immediate aftermath, Joe returned to Ground Zero to assist with cleanup efforts.
—Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2025
Verb
It was agreed that Paul and Geraldine would clean up the table and do the dishes.
—Colm Tóibín, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2025
An accident at the WIPP site several years ago took 3 years to repair and cost upwards of $1 billion to clean up—all this caused by leakage from a single storage drum.
—Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleanup
Articles Related to cleanup
Cite this Entry
“Cleanup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleanup. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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