cleanup

1 of 3

noun

clean·​up ˈklēn-ˌəp 

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

cleanup

2 of 3

adjective

: being in the fourth position in the batting order of a baseball team

a cleanup hitter

cleanup adverb

clean up

3 of 3

verb

cleaned up; cleaning up; cleans up

intransitive verb

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

Examples of cleanup in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Now that a federal state of emergency has been declared, Russian state funds will be directed to the cleanup effort and response. . —David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024

That list includes the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which coordinates the multi-state cleanup effort for the nation’s largest estuary. —Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 26 Dec. 2024

Adjective

The alliance will provide door hangers, gloves, bags and safety vests for the cleanup day. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Oct. 2023

That optimistic outlook is much needed as invoices are still due on the marred merchandise, and the cost of cleanup efforts and repairing damage to the building owned by the Olde World Christmas Shoppe is hundreds of thousands of dollars. —Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 13 Dec. 2024

Verb

From the workers who helped clean up Ground Zero in the wake of 9/11 to the communities living through the water crisis in Flint, Mich., Cornejo Villavicencio, herself undocumented until 2020, uplifts the voices often left out of the spotlight. —Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 31 Dec. 2024

Finding a place for all these items can make quick work of cleaning up which can result in forming a habit of putting things away at once. —Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

see clean entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1872, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1912, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cleanup

noun

clean·​up

ˈklē-ˌnəp

: an act or instance of cleaning

helped with the cleanup after the meal