cleaning

[ klee-ning ]

noun

1. an act or instance of making clean:

   Give the house a good cleaning.

2. Slang. an overwhelming or complete defeat, financial loss, or failure:

   Our team took a cleaning in yesterday's game.

3. Informal. killing ( def 3 ).

Other Words From

• self-cleaning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleaning¹

First recorded in 1655–75; clean + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Social distancing, regular cleaning, hand sanitizer, and masks are pretty standard fare, though it may be hard to find details about what your state is doing.

From Popular-Science

That had implications for the profits of corporations that operate on a franchise model and for contract-staffing firms, like cleaning services.

From ProPublica

By 1971, waste water cleaning regulations were set at a federal level.

From Ozy

“My district usually does a very good job with cleaning supplies,” says Hecht.

From Science News For Students

Theaters are opening with reduced audience capacities, assigned seating, and enhanced cleaning protocols, which means far fewer people will be able to see it on opening weekend than might have packed into multiplexes in a previous year.

From Vox

One day he and some of his roommates were cleaning their room and one of the guys threw the dustpan out into the hall.

From The Daily Beast

Nothing much to use in cleaning up the baby and his mother after the birth, no place to dispose of the placenta.

From The Daily Beast

It also means not having to stress about cleaning out your DVR.

From The Daily Beast

We coo over how cute our cat is and minimize the drudgery of cleaning the litter box.

From The Daily Beast

After cleaning up the copious amount of blood on my body in a bathroom, I found my clothing and got dressed.

From The Daily Beast

They ranged from moving trunks to cleaning cisterns, and, by grace of all of them, Sim was doing very well.

From Project Gutenberg

They require frequent cleaning with a long wire and a bit of tow, and in some large towns there are professional pipe-cleaners.

From Project Gutenberg

While his mother was cleaning the fish, Alila made a fire and cut the bamboos at every joint.

From Project Gutenberg

I finished cleaning out my desk and took a wastebasket full of papers to the back shop.

From Project Gutenberg

You save all the dreadful labor of cleaning up the house the next day, as well as that of preparation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• purification
• sanitation
• sterilization
• washing