Antonyms for clean up

Grammar : Verb

Spell : kleen

Phonetic Transcription : klin

Definition of clean up

Origin : Old English clæne "free from dirt or filth; pure, chaste, innocent; open, in the open," of beasts, "ritually safe to eat," from West Germanic *klainoz "clear, pure" (cf. Old Saxon kleni "dainty, delicate," Old Frisian klene "small," Old High German kleini "delicate, fine, small," German klein "small;" English preserves the original Germanic sense), from PIE root *gel- "bright, gleaming" (cf. Greek glene "eyeball," Old Irish gel "bright").
"Largely replaced by clear, pure in the higher senses" [Weekley], but as a verb (mid-15c.) it has largely usurped what once belonged to cleanse. Meaning "whole, entire" is from c.1300 (clean sweep in the figurative sense is from 1821). Sense of "innocent" is from c.1300; that of "not lewd" is from 1867; that of "not carrying anything forbidden" is from 1938; that of "free of drug addiction" is from 1950s. To come clean "confess" is from 1919, American English.

As in legalize : verb allow, validate
As in make : verb earn, acquire
As in net : verb gain after expenses
As in profit : verb gain; get or give an advantage
As in rake : verb scrape up, hoe
As in rectify : verb correct a situation; make something right
As in reform : verb correct, rectify
As in refurbish : verb spruce up
As in remedy : verb fix, cure
As in return : verb earn
As in revise : verb correct, edit
As in right : verb fix, correct
As in settle : verb straighten out, resolve
As in shake up : verb upset, unsettle
As in simplify : verb make easy, intelligible
As in void : verb nullify, cancel
As in wash : verb bathe, clean
As in wind up : verb finish
As in hit the jackpot : verb win a lot of money
As in accumulate : verb gather or amass something
As in : verb make money
As in brush up : verb improve condition
As in censor : verb forbid; ban; selectively remove
As in lave : verb wash
As in legitimatize : verb legalize
As in legitimize : verb legalize
As in clear : verb profit
As in consummate : verb achieve, finish
As in correct : verb fix, adjust
As in delete : verb erase, remove
As in earn : verb make money
As in expurgate : verb censor, cut
As in amass : verb gather, accumulate
As in get : verb come into possession of; achieve

Example sentences :

You must listen while I tell you how to clean up the monsters.
Extract from : « Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930 » by Various

Henry promised to put it away in the cellar and clean up the cellar as soon as he could.
Extract from : « Spacemen Never Die! » by Morris Hershman

"You—you go and clean up the cellar," ordered the irate captain.
Extract from : « Cap'n Dan's Daughter » by Joseph C. Lincoln

And I can't let you monkey with the lights, except to clean up around and such.
Extract from : « The Woman-Haters » by Joseph C. Lincoln

Say, bimeby, when the place been clean up, maybe he use it himself.
Extract from : « Cape Cod Stories » by Joseph C. Lincoln

Now get in there and clean up that dirty motor and get her runnin'!
Extract from : « The Finding of Haldgren » by Charles Willard Diffin

A good time to clean up is when the battery is being charged.
Extract from : « The Automobile Storage Battery » by O. A. Witte

The result of the "clean up" and retorting was $1,000 worth of shining gold.
Extract from : « A Gold Hunter's Experience » by Chalkley J. Hambleton

Will it waken them if I––clean up a little before I go to bed?
Extract from : « Rim o' the World » by B. M. Bower

Now, Jack, you and Harry get out the wireless while I clean up.
Extract from : « Boy Scouts Mysterious Signal » by G. Harvey Ralphson

Synonyms for clean up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019