housecleaning

American  

[hous-klee-ning] / ˈhaʊsˌkli nɪŋ /

noun

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

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

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Etymology

Origin of housecleaning

First recorded in 1860–65; house + cleaning

Example Sentences

This wasn’t a major housecleaning but more like a culling of online subscriptions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

Spending time with such a character inspired Wenders to do a little housecleaning.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2023

The housecleaning could delay processing the income statements because the financial team had been reshuffled, the source said, adding "with some firings, rediscovering the past gets even more complicated."

From Reuters • Jun. 22, 2023

In addition, a single housecleaning can cost $75 to $380, depending on the size of your home.

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2023

I am not sure, however, that I could have maintained the seven-day-a-week regimen month after month or eluded the kinds of injuries that afflicted my fellow workers in the housecleaning business.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich