clean up
[verb]
Synonyms: clear, gain, make, net, clean, cleanse, settle, wind up

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

clean up phrasal verb (see also clean)

1. to make a place completely clean and tidy:
We spent all Saturday morning cleaning up.
clean something ↔ up
plans to clean up the beaches
clean up after
John always expects other people to clean up after him (=to make a place clean after he has used it).

2. to wash yourself after you have got very dirty
clean yourself up
Let me just go clean myself up.
Dad’s upstairs getting cleaned up.

3. clean up your act informal to start behaving sensibly and responsibly:
Some companies could face heavy fines if they fail to clean up their act.

4. informal to win a lot of money or make a lot of money in a business deal:
He cleaned up at the races yesterday.

5. clean something ↔ up to improve moral standards in a place or organization:
It’s high time British soccer cleaned up its image.
⇒ clean-up

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ˈclean-up , clean‧up /ˈkliːnʌp/ noun [countable usually singular]
a process by which you get rid of dirt or waste from a place:
The cleanup of the oil spill took months.
millions of dollars in clean-up costs

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

clean up
clean up (somewhere)
to remove illegal or dishonest activity from a place.
Having more police on the street has helped clean up the city.

to win or earn a lot of money.
We cleaned up playing the slots at the casino last night.

The computer giant cleaned up with its new, easy-to-use operating system.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

clean up
to make a lot of money, to make a big profit
I cleaned up at the horse races last year and I still have some of the money left.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

clean up
v. phr.
1. To wash and make oneself presentable.
After quitting for the day in the garage, Tim decided to clean up and put on a clean shirt.
2. To finish; terminate.
The secretary promised her boss to clean up all the unfinished work before leaving on her Florida vacation.
3. informal To make a large profit.
The clever investors cleaned up on the stock market last week.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

clean up
n.
1. An act of removing all the dirt from a given set of objects.
What this filthy room needs is an honest clean-up.
2. The elimination of pockets of resistance during warfare or a police raid.
The FBI conducted a clean-up against the drug pushers in our district.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲