cleaner

American  

[klee-ner] / ˈkli nər /

noun

1. a person who cleans, especially one whose regular occupation is cleaning cleaning offices, buildings, equipment, etc.

2. an apparatus or machine for cleaning, cleaning, as a vacuum cleaner.

3. a preparation for use in cleaning, cleaning, as a detergent or chemical bleach.

4. the owner or operator of a dry-cleaning establishment.

   The cleaner said he couldn't get the spot off my coat.

5. Usually cleaners. a dry-cleaning establishment.

   My suit is at the cleaners.

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idioms

1. take to the cleaners, to cause to lose all or a great deal of one's money or personal property, as through gambling or a bad investment.

   He got taken to the cleaners in the poker game last night.

cleaner British  

/ ˈkliːnə /

noun

1. a person, device, chemical agent, etc, that removes dirt, as from clothes or carpets

2. (usually plural) a shop, etc that provides a dry-cleaning service

3. informal to rob or defraud a person of all of his money

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Other Word Forms

• precleaner noun

Etymology

Origin of cleaner

First recorded in 1425–75, cleaner is from the late Middle English word clener. See clean, -er ¹

Example Sentences

There is a pool cleaner from Mammotion that can pull itself out of the water to recharge.

From The Wall Street Journal

The material is sold to mills, manufacturers and remelt facilities, which pay more for cleaner bales.

From The Wall Street Journal

Paramount has said its proposal has a cleaner path to regulatory approval than Netflix’s.

From The Wall Street Journal

Prior to becoming a professional darts player, Searle worked as a window cleaner.

From BBC

By 1926, things that at the century’s dawn had never been a part of daily life—vacuum cleaners, humans taking flight, military tanks, stainless steel—suddenly were.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cleanser
• disinfectant
• soap