Dictionary

clean up en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (alt-of, misspelling) Misspelling of cleanup.
   alt of cleanup

clean up en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy.
   • Mr Mayor, you were elected in a campaign to clean up the city. When are you gonna start? 2008 July 14, Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Comics, Legendary Pictures:
   • Rhos station had been cleaned up for the occasion, and its single platform was gay with flags. 1946 May and June, “Notes and News: Special Services for the Welsh National Eisteddfod”, in Railway Magazine, page 188:
   • Clean up your room.
   • At the same time, it is pouring money into cleaning up the country. 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
2. (colloquial, idiomatic, intransitive) To become clean, handsome, smart in appearance, e.g. for a special occasion, especially when it is out of character to be seen as such.
   • He sure cleans up nice.
3. (idiomatic, transitive) To make something less corrupt or unseemly.
   • Gays in Providence have suggested that the raid on the Club Baths was a political action. There is some belief that the newly re-elected Cianci administration wants to prove that it is "out to clean up the city." During the election campaign, the Cianci administration was attacked by opponents as being "soft on crime." 1978 December 16, Jim Marko, “Providence Police Raid Downtown Baths”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 21, page 1:
   • clean up one's act
4. (idiomatic, intransitive) To make a large profit; to win by a large margin, or to win a large amount, especially in gambling. Also clean house.
   • And for Rodgers, who cleaned up with Celtic in Scotland, this was another significant addition to his CV, as his expert guidance of Leicester - who are in a strong position to finish in the Premier League's top four and face Chelsea again at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday - now has a tangible reward in the shape of the FA Cup. 2021 May 15, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0-1 Leicester”, in BBC Sport:
   • The investors cleaned up when the stock hit the roof last year.
   • Man, he sure cleaned up last night at the blackjack table.
5. To intervene in a fight between two players at low health and easily kill both of them or the winner.
   • The key here is to stop third partying and start cleaning up. Running to the first bullets you hear will only guarantee one thing, a fight. […] Cleaning up means only swooping in for the free kills. Is a fight over? Does Octane has his hands in a deathbox? That is when you take the zipline and catch them with their pants down. 2020 June 23, Jackson Haime, “Becoming a Legend: 4 Easy Ways to Climb in Apex Legends”, in Medium:

Forms

Deriveds

clean up one's plate · clean up one's act · cleaner-upper

Relateds

cleanup · clean house · clean out

Synonyms

scrub up

Translations (30)

ja 掃除する (to make an area or a thing clean) · pt fazer uma limpeza (to make an area or a thing clean) · pl sprzątnąć (to make an area or a thing clean) · nb gjøre rent (to make an area or a thing clean) · sl počistiti (to make an area or a thing clean) · nb vaske (to make an area or a thing clean) · it ripulire (to make an area or a thing clean) · de putzen (to make an area or a thing clean) · pt dar uma limpeza (to make an area or a thing clean) · vi quét dọn (to make an area or a thing clean) · cs vyčistit (to make an area or a thing clean) · ru убира́ться (to make an area or a thing clean) · ru прибираться (to make an area or a thing clean) · pl posprzątać (to make an area or a thing clean) · uk прибира́ти (to make an area or a thing clean) · vi quét tước (to make an area or a thing clean) · nl schoonmaken (to make an area or a thing clean) · fr nettoyer (to make an area or a thing clean) · es limpiar (to make an area or a thing clean) · eo purigi (to make an area or a thing clean) · pl sprzątać (to make an area or a thing clean) · az səliqəyə salmaq (to make an area or a thing clean) · az yığışdırmaq (to make an area or a thing clean) · uk прибра́ти (to make an area or a thing clean) · pt limpar (to make an area or a thing clean) · ca netejar (to make an area or a thing clean) · nb rengjøre (to make an area or a thing clean) · cy llnau tua (to make an area or a thing clean) · el καθαρίζω (to make an area or a thing clean) · fi siivota (to make an area or a thing clean)