1. The act of making something clean
   "he gave his shoes a good cleaning";
   - cleansing, cleanup, clean

1. Make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from
   "Clean the stove!"; "The dentist cleaned my teeth"
    
2. Remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits
   "Clean the turkey";
   - pick
    
3. Clean and tidy up the house
   "She cleans house every week";
   - houseclean, clean house [N. Amer]
    
4. Clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing
   "clean up before you see your grandparents"; "clean your fingernails before dinner";
   - cleanse
    
5. Remove impurities from, esp. by a chemical reaction
   "The engineers used activated carbon to clean impurities from the water";
   - scavenge
    
6. Remove shells or husks from
   "clean grain before milling it"
    
7. Remove all contents or possessions from, or empty completely
   "The boys cleaned the sandwich platters"; "The trees were cleaned of apples by the storm";
   - strip
    
8. Deprive wholly of money in a gambling game, robbery, etc.
   "The other players cleaned him completely"
    
9. Be cleanable
   "This stove cleans easily"
    
10. Remove while making clean
    "Clean the spots off the rug"

Derived forms: cleanings

Type of: alter, be, change, clean up, declutter, deprive, divest, exist, groom, improvement, modify, neaten, remove, square away [N. Amer], straighten, straighten out, strip, take, take away, tidy, tidy up, withdraw

Antonym: grime

Encyclopedia: Cleaning