cleanup
the act or process of cleaning up.
Slang. a very large profit: The company made a real cleanup on their new invention.
Baseball.
the fourth position in the batting order: Our best home-run hitter is batting cleanup.
the player who bats in this position.
Origin of cleanup
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cleanup in a sentence
She gave the aged patients laxatives so other nurses would have to clean up.
Nurse Nasty Suspected of Killing 38 People in Italy | Barbie Latza Nadeau | October 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt's so big that after every period, BP pays for the clean-up.
Melissa Rivers: Life After Joan—A Funny, Moving Celebration on a Special 'Fashion Police' | Tim Teeman | September 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe reneged on promises to clean up the state, shutting down a commission that was supposed to investigate Albany corruption.
Andrew Cuomo Can't Ignore It Now: He's Weak Even at Home | David Freedlander | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSoon another doctor hired him to clean up his office, too, meaning an additional $2.50 a week.
Football Great Bob Suffridge Wanders Through the End Zone of Life | Paul Hemphill | September 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt the end of the evening, the hostess departed at the same time as her guests, leaving the caterers to clean up the mess.
Besides, Mr. Hofer is one of that small millionaire group that is trying to clean up San Francisco municipally.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton"If we clean up on the Dangerfield gang, it will be you as helped more'n anybody else," dropped in a third.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsDisappointed, I went back to my farm, and resolved to clean up the path through the pines, to surprise her.
The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton"It might tickle him to go to the senate, particularly if he had a score to clean up in connection with it," remarked Ware.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith NicholsonIt appears that what the sheep do not eat in the way of burrs they gather in their wool, and in that way clean up the farm.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthur
British Dictionary definitions for clean up
to rid (something) of dirt, filth, or other impurities
to make (someone or something) orderly or presentable
(tr) to rid (a place) of undesirable people or conditions: the campaign against vice had cleaned up the city
(intr) informal to make a great profit
the process of cleaning up or eliminating something
(as modifier): a cleanup campaign
informal, mainly US a great profit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with cleanup
Also, clean out. Make clean or orderly, as in She cleaned up the cellar after the flood, or Dad said he cleaned out the garage. [First half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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