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Synonyms

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.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And she's addressed hundreds of pupils at Fettes College, where she used to work as a cleaner.

From BBC

But the purpose of their power purchases was to shift their energy use to cleaner sources as part of decarbonization goals.

From Barron's

In addition to being cleaner for the environment, he said it could be "cheaper to get rid of that waste through an anaerobic digestion plant" than other methods.

From BBC

Now, Sennesael said, Western Digital can better focus on its hard-disk-drive business and develop stronger customer engagements with “a much cleaner story that is easy to articulate.”

From MarketWatch

Hakimi, born in Spain to Moroccan parents, his mother a cleaner and father a street vendor, came through the Real Madrid academy, making his senior debut for them in 2017.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.