cleaner

[klee-ner]

noun

1. a person who cleans, especially one whose regular occupation is cleaning cleaning offices, buildings, equipment, etc.

2. an apparatus or machine for cleaning, cleaning, as a vacuum cleaner.

3. a preparation for use in cleaning, cleaning, as a detergent or chemical bleach.

4. the owner or operator of a dry-cleaning establishment.

   The cleaner said he couldn't get the spot off my coat.

5. Usually cleaners. a dry-cleaning establishment.

   My suit is at the cleaners.

cleaner

/ ˈkliːnə /

noun

1. a person, device, chemical agent, etc, that removes dirt, as from clothes or carpets

2. (usually plural) a shop, etc that provides a dry-cleaning service

3. informal,  to rob or defraud a person of all of his money

Other Word Forms

• precleaner noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleaner¹

First recorded in 1425–75, cleaner is from the late Middle English word clener. See clean, -er ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take to the cleaners, to cause to lose all or a great deal of one's money or personal property, as through gambling or a bad investment.

   He got taken to the cleaners in the poker game last night.

Example Sentences

Both parties are firmly against Czech households carrying a greater financial burden for cleaner energy, and both oppose the EU's ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars after 2035.

From BBC

"It does feel cleaner when you're looking across and you can see there's nothing coming out. And the smell isn't there, like we used to have that eggy smell coming from there."

From BBC

"There's nothing to negotiate. There's nothing we can pull out of this bill to make it any leaner or cleaner than it is," Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said.

From BBC

As a cleaner, there was little I could do except offer words of comfort and assurances that I'd told the care staff.

From BBC

Mohammed Sharwarq, 32, assaulted a cleaner, a head chef and two residents at The Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex, on 12 August.

From BBC

Related Words

• cleanser 
• disinfectant 
• soap