housecleaning

[ hous-klee-ning ]

/ ˈhaʊsˌkli nɪŋ /

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noun

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

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

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of housecleaning

First recorded in 1860–65; house + cleaning

Words nearby housecleaning

house call, housecarl, housecat, house church, houseclean, housecleaning, housecoat, house counsel, house-craft, house cricket, house crow

How to use housecleaning in a sentence

No doubt several cardinals who will be most affected by a thorough curial housecleaning were thinking the same thing.
Conspiracy Theories Behind Pope Francis’s Election|Barbie Latza Nadeau|March 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But a wholesale housecleaning of GOP incumbents before the general election looks unlikely for now.
The Tea Party Targets|Jill Lawrence|June 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A magic housecleaning as if Mary Poppins were an accountant.
Black Friday, Zombie Holiday|Mike Albo|November 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The party doesn't need a facelift, it needs a housecleaning.
Yikes, What Does the GOP Do Now?|The Daily Beast|May 2, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Behind the kitchen door usually, but with the house all torn up with housecleaning, I don't know where it is.
Billy Whiskers' Adventures|Frances Trego Montgomery
And it was no wonder that at the close of the Congress the Pope at once ordered a sacred housecleaning, a divine fumigation.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12|Elbert Hubbard
Housecleaning of any sort can hardly fail to be a time of turmoil and weariness for the housekeeper.
The Library of Work and Play: Housekeeping|Elizabeth Hale Gilman
My process is just like housecleaning a room; before you clean the walls and floor you remove the furniture.
Ethel Morton at Chautauqua|Mabell S. C. Smith
No frogs, toads or eels were allowed near, but in the work of daily housecleaning, the storks and the mermaids were great friends.
Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks|William Elliot Griffis

housecleaning

Origin of housecleaning

Words nearby housecleaning

Words related to housecleaning

How to use housecleaning in a sentence