housecleaning

American  

[haus-klee-ning] / ˈhaʊsˌkli nɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of cleaning a house, room, etc., and its furnishings, especially the act of cleaning thoroughly and completely.

2. the act of improving or reforming by weeding out excess or corrupt personnel or of revising methods of operation.

---

Etymology

Origin of housecleaning

First recorded in 1860–65; house + cleaning

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

housecleaning

While preparing for the country’s planned celebration of its 250th birthday, Trump decided to do a little housecleaning and update the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, vowing to make it better than ever.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

This wasn’t a major housecleaning but more like a culling of online subscriptions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026

But even after a new album — the band’s 12th — was released in April, concert sales lagged, leading to the cancellations and a housecleaning behind the scenes.

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2024

Irregular labor like yard work or housecleaning is their only way of making a living.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2024

Sometimes the photos did not sell—a project Mia did with skeletal leaves sold only one, and for several months she took up a series of odd jobs: housecleaning, flower arranging, cake decorating.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---