# take to the cleaners

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/take-to-the-cleaners
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To take a significant quantity of a person's money or valuables, through overcharging, litigation, unfavorable investing, gambling, fraud, etc.

## Examples

- The dishonest mechanic took me to the cleaners.
- Professional gamblers often take tourists to the cleaners at the card tables.
- That overpriced souvenir shop really takes unsuspecting visitors to the cleaners.
- After losing all his savings in that bad investment, he realized the firm had taken him to the cleaners.
- If you do not read the contract carefully, those hidden fees will take you to the cleaners before the project even starts.
- She worried that her ex-husband's expensive lawyers would take her to the cleaners during the final divorce settlement.
- The aggressive legal team took the small company to the cleaners, leaving them with nothing but debt after the long court battle.

## Origin

The idiom is a humorous alteration of the older expression to clean someone out. It appears as a more modern variation on the theme of being stripped of one's resources, shifting the locale from a general state of emptiness to the specific site of a professional service.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.