# cleanup

/ˈkɫiˌnəp/ (US) · /klˈiːnʌp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/cleanup
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. cleaning or tidying

noun · CEFR B2

the act of cleaning a place or making it tidy after it has been used or made messy.

For teachers: the act or process of cleaning or tidying a specific area, often following an event or period of neglect.

- The community organized a weekend cleanup of the local park to remove all the litter.
- After the festival concluded, the organizers faced a massive cleanup operation that required dozens of volunteers and several days of work.

Usage: Usually written as one word or hyphenated when used as a noun; the verb form is always two words.

### 2. removing pollution or problems

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a large project to remove dangerous waste from the environment or to stop dishonest behavior in a group.

For teachers: an extensive operation to remove pollutants from the environment or to eliminate corruption and inefficiency within an organization.

- The government promised a major cleanup of the river after the chemical spill.
- The new CEO initiated a thorough cleanup of the company's accounting practices to restore investor confidence.

Teaching tip: This sense is frequently used in political and environmental contexts to describe systemic reform.

### 3. baseball batting order

noun · CEFR C2 · American English · Technical

the fourth person to hit the ball in a baseball game, usually a very strong player.

For teachers: the fourth position in the batting order, typically reserved for a power hitter expected to 'clean' the bases by driving in runners.

- He was nervous about batting cleanup in such an important game.
- The manager decided to move the star outfielder into the cleanup spot to maximize the team's scoring potential.

Usage: Often used as an attributive noun in the phrase 'cleanup hitter'.

Teaching tip: This is a specialized term mostly used in North American baseball contexts.

## Examples

- The kitchen cleanup took twenty minutes.
- After the party, everyone helped with the cleanup to restore the living room to its usual order.
- The environmental cleanup of the river required years of dedicated effort and significant financial investment from local authorities.

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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.