clean up: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
HighNeutral to informal; common in everyday speech and informal writing, but also used in formal contexts like news and business.
Quick answer
What does “clean up” mean?
to remove dirt, clutter, or impurities from something, making it clean and tidy.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
to remove dirt, clutter, or impurities from something, making it clean and tidy.
To remove undesirable elements, improve conditions, make a substantial financial gain, or restore order in various contexts (e.g., environment, business, crime, politics).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Hyphenation in noun/adjective forms: UK prefers 'clean-up' (noun/adjective); US strongly prefers single-word 'cleanup'. No significant difference in meaning or verb usage.
Connotations
Identical core connotations. The financial/metaphorical 'make a large profit' sense is equally understood.
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both varieties. The environmental/political 'clean up' sense is prevalent in news media globally.
Grammar
How to Use “clean up” in a Sentence
[NP] clean upclean up [NP]clean [NP] upclean up after [NP]clean up [NP] after [EVENT]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “clean up” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- We need to clean up before the guests arrive.
- The council pledged to clean up the river.
- He really cleaned up at the auction.
American English
- Kids, clean up your toys now.
- The new mayor promised to clean up city hall.
- They cleaned up at the box office with their new film.
adverb
British English
- Not applicable as a standard adverb form.
American English
- Not applicable as a standard adverb form.
adjective
British English
- A massive clean-up operation was launched after the floods.
- She is the clean-up hitter in the baseball analogy for the project.
American English
- The cleanup crew arrived at dawn.
- He's our cleanup batter for this presentation.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Refers to making large profits ('The company cleaned up last quarter'), corporate restructuring, or compliance efforts.
Academic
Used in environmental science, sociology (e.g., urban cleanup projects), and computer science (data cleanup).
Everyday
Most common for household tidying, personal hygiene ('Go clean up before dinner'), or post-event tidying.
Technical
In computing: removing redundant code or corrupt data. In chemistry: decontamination processes.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “clean up”
- Incorrect separation: 'I cleaned the kitchen up' is correct, but *'I cleaned up it' is wrong; pronoun objects must separate: 'I cleaned it up'.
- Confusing with 'clean out': 'I cleaned up my desk' (tidied it) vs. 'I cleaned out my desk' (emptied its contents).
- Overusing the financial sense in inappropriate contexts.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it is a separable phrasal verb. You can say 'clean up the mess' or 'clean the mess up'. However, with pronoun objects, you must separate: 'clean it up' (not *'clean up it').
They are often interchangeable for general tidying. 'Clean up' can imply more washing/scrubbing (removing dirt), while 'tidy up' focuses more on organizing and putting things away. 'Clean up' has wider metaphorical uses (profit, corruption).
Yes, as an intransitive verb: 'The party's over; time to clean up.' or 'Go clean up; your hands are dirty.'
The noun is commonly written as 'cleanup' (one word) in American English and often as 'clean-up' (hyphenated) in British English. Both refer to the act or process of cleaning up.
to remove dirt, clutter, or impurities from something, making it clean and tidy.
Clean up is usually neutral to informal; common in everyday speech and informal writing, but also used in formal contexts like news and business. in register.
Clean up: in British English it is pronounced /ˌkliːn ˈʌp/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌklin ˈəp/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “clean up your act”
- “clean up in the market”
- “come clean (semantically related)”
- “a clean sweep (semantically related)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a messy room: you need to CLEAN it UP to the ceiling, making everything spotless from the floor UP.
Conceptual Metaphor
MORALITY/ORDER IS CLEANLINESS (e.g., 'clean up politics'), PROFIT IS A CLEAN SWEEP (e.g., 'clean up at the races').
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'clean up' used in its financial/profit sense?