1
as in tidying (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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in censoring
to remove objectionable parts from
cleaned up the rock star's interview before publishing it in the newspaper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in eradicating
to destroy all traces of
hurriedly cleaned up the mess that they had created in the kitchen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleaning (up)
Verb
-
Political leaders might consider pushing social media companies to increase content moderation — a practice which declined in the wake of backlash over platforms censoring conservative stories and views during the pandemic and 2020 election.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025 -
The report found of the 329 Ohio State students who responded, 43% reported self-censoring on campus.—
Chris Quintana,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Book bans are targeting trans authors in conservative states, eradicating their work from curricula and library circulation.—
Grace Byron,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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Yet minimizing and possibly even eradicating infectious diseases is a collective act that requires nearly everyone to play their part.—
Simon Williams,
Time,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Railroad Commission approved the permit without shortening its duration.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
4 Sep. 2025
-
But warming is disrupting this balance, reducing snowfall, shortening the precipitation season, and in some cases shifting it from snow to rain.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The brand’s eye-specific product packs a punch courtesy of antioxidants, fine line–erasing peptides, and Persian silk tree extract (the latter is both a preventative and curative measure against dark circles and puffiness).—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When this happens for a car attacking on a corner’s outside, the driver on the inside can run their rival fully out wide without picking up a penalty.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
-
None are 100% at picking up cognitive issues.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Outdoor Voices, once the toast of the category, faded into restructuring, wiping out its entire social media presence.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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At least 61,000 people living in the Gaza Strip have died in Israel’s subsequent military campaign aimed at wiping out Hamas and recovering the hostages.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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At the same time, support for abolishing the Monarchy has risen from 3 percent to 15 percent during that time.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Whereas opposition parties favored cutting or abolishing it, the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito—concerned that such a move would spook financial markets—instead offered one-time cash payments of roughly $140 per person to defray the cost of living.—
Mireya Solís,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Unfortunately, the 2025 Perseids happened to coincide with the appearance of a waxing gibbous moon, which bleached the sky with moonlight, blotting out all but the brightest members of the ancient meteor shower.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Cleaning (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleaning%20%28up%29. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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