were cleaning
- past progressive of clean.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It also reported its teams were cleaning up 18 reported spills from an estimated 60 bunkering points.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Workers at Catalyst Refiners Inc. in Institute, W.Va., were cleaning and decontaminating a metal processing site—in preparation for closing it down—when a chemical reaction created dangerous hydrogen sulfide gas around 9:30 a.m.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Outside, Minneapolitans were cleaning up the gas canisters ICE had left behind and hugging each other.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2026
Their bosses had told them that if immigration agents returned, the workers should consider locking themselves inside the cars that they were cleaning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 23, 2025
Tally noticed the other rangers were cleaning their boots and uniforms, searching for any trace of the flowers among the mud and foam.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
