cleans (up)

verb

present tense third-person singular of clean (up)
1
as in cleans house
to make a place neat and orderly by removing extraneous stuff you're expected to clean up after you use the workroom

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in censors
to remove objectionable parts from cleaned up the rock star's interview before publishing it in the newspaper

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in erases
to destroy all traces of hurriedly cleaned up the mess that they had created in the kitchen

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleans (up)
  1. censors
  2. erases
  3. shortens
  4. eradicates
  5. abolishes
  6. wipes out
  7. destroys
Verb
  • Shame on any educational institution that censors speech condemning it.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
  • In 2019, the state passed a law that censors me from saying certain things to my clients.
    — Megan Schrader, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
Definition of censors
Verb
  • Researchers at the University of California San Diego have demonstrated a way to control how an experimental electronic device forms and erases memory, using electrical currents to change the behavior of a material called vanadium dioxide.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Continue reading … OPINION ELI STEELE — NYC ICE shooting exposes how White Guilt erases personal responsibility.
    — , FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of erases
Verb
  • Their average life span is about 8,000 hours, but turning them on and off frequently shortens this time frame.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Keeping machining close to engineering also shortens the feedback loop between design and testing.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of shortens
Verb
  • But that also eradicates a crucial option - to mount a show trial and scapegoat him for all the ills of his rule, thus absolving others.
    — Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • Treating the underlying condition eradicates the need for drug treatments that act globally.
    — Dr. Patricia Richard, Hartford Courant, 14 Apr. 2026
Definition of eradicates
Verb
  • The Schengen Area is an agreement between 29 European countries that abolishes passport controls and allows people to travel across European borders without providing documents.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Attorney Monica Restanio, whose arguments in court for the Venezuelan family were responsible for winning the ruling that abolishes the minor issue, said she was thrilled.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 29 July 2026
Definition of abolishes
Verb
  • This major markdown wipes out the steep premiums on most high-tier gaming displays, allowing e-sports players and media creators to rise through the ranks with a highly fluid, ultra-clear panoramic canvas.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 26 June 2026
  • Continue reading … LINES REDRAWN — Supreme Court greenlights Alabama GOP map that wipes out a majority-Black district.
    — , FOXNews.com, 3 June 2026
Definition of wipes out
Verb
  • Unlike a measurement that absorbs or destroys the photons, this method can extract information while preserving the photons themselves.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Raking or shredding those leaves destroys the next generation.
    — Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroys
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

cleans (out)
cleans (up)
cleans up one's act
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Cite this Entry

“Cleans (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleans%20%28up%29. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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