1
: an act or instance of cleaning
The children helped with the cleanup.
2
: an exceptionally large profit
made a cleanup [=killing] when he sold his stocks
: being in the fourth position in the batting order of a baseball team
a cleanup hitter
cleanup
adverb
cleaned up; cleaning up; cleans up
1
: to make a spectacular profit in a business enterprise or a killing in speculation or gambling
2
: to become free of drug or alcohol addiction
I always cleaned up for tours. … By the end of the tour, I'm perfectly clean and should have stayed sober.—
Keith Richards
Keith RichardsExamples of cleanup in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
That list includes the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which coordinates the multi-state cleanup effort for the nation’s largest estuary.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 26 Dec. 2024
Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 13 Dec. 2024
The event includes two cleanup opportunities: picking up trash on Piney Road or helping with trail clearing and maintenance related to damage from tornadoes that hit Benton County over Memorial Day weekend.
—Nwa Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 16 Oct. 2024
Brittney Melton, NPR, 26 Dec. 2024
Years later, however, McCartney was able to clean up the demo using the same technology Peter Jackson’s team developed to restore and preserve the archival audio for the Get Back movie project.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cleanup 
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Noun
Now that a federal state of emergency has been declared, Russian state funds will be directed to the cleanup effort and response.
.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024
That list includes the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which coordinates the multi-state cleanup effort for the nation’s largest estuary.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
That optimistic outlook is much needed as invoices are still due on the marred merchandise, and the cost of cleanup efforts and repairing damage to the building owned by the Olde World Christmas Shoppe is hundreds of thousands of dollars.
—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 13 Dec. 2024
The event includes two cleanup opportunities: picking up trash on Piney Road or helping with trail clearing and maintenance related to damage from tornadoes that hit Benton County over Memorial Day weekend.
—Nwa Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 16 Oct. 2024
Verb
Ukrainian crews are cleaning up this morning after a deadly Christmas Day attack by Russia.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 26 Dec. 2024
Years later, however, McCartney was able to clean up the demo using the same technology Peter Jackson’s team developed to restore and preserve the archival audio for the Get Back movie project.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cleanup
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Cite this Entry
“Cleanup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleanup. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
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