clean out

British  

verb

1. to remove (something) (from or away from)

2. slang to leave (someone) with no money

   gambling had cleaned him out

3. informal to exhaust (stocks, goods, etc) completely

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clean out Idioms  

1. See clean up , def. 1.

2. Empty something of its contents, leave bare. For example, The crows cleaned out the whole field of corn , or At the shop's first sale the customers cleaned out the entire stock of shoes . [Mid-1800s]

3. Deprive of money or other material resources. This usage originated in gambling, where it signified losing one's last stake. Charles Dickens had it in Oliver Twist (1838): “He has cleaned me out, but I can go and earn some more.” [Early 1800s]

4. Drive out by force, as in The new CEO tried to get away with cleaning out all employees over the age of 60 . [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

When I finally got one, Mr. Irmis was cleaning out his closet on the last day of school.

From The Wall Street Journal

I didn’t want to disappoint her, no sir, so I had my second helping and put Timbuktu clean out of my mind.

From Literature

Downtown Los Angeles’ infamous eyesore is one step closer to being cleaned out.

From Los Angeles Times

Whatever I had planned or not planned to say flew clean out of my head.

From Literature

The sky is a brilliant and sharp winter blue as Meadowlark and I finish cleaning out and replacing the bedding in the last chicken coop.

From Literature

Related Words

• bankrupt
• crush
• decimate
• demolish
• deplete
• exhaust
• impoverish
• injure
• mar
• overwhelm
• raze
• shatter
• spoil
• wipe out
• wrack
• wreck