clean out

phrasal verb

cleaned out; cleaning out; cleans out

: to remove unwanted things from (a room, closet, etc.)

We spent the weekend cleaning out the garage.

informal : to steal or take everything from (someone or something)

The thieves broke in and cleaned out the store.

informal : to use up all or most of the money of (someone)

Buying the house really cleaned us out. Now we're broke.

Examples of clean out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Watch this video to see how to use power tools to quickly clean out pumpkins. —

Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2024 An example of Blanchett’s second-person voice-over happens in a scene between Catherine and her son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee) cleaning out his old room. —

Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 12 Oct. 2024 As a result of Helene, the restaurant was flooded, and Frog Pond employees banded together to clean out the space. —

Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 3 Oct. 2024 Those of us who helped clean out the house do not want to go back there. —

Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for clean out

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clean out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.