cleaning

American  

[klee-ning] / ˈkli nɪŋ /

noun

1. an act or instance of making clean.

   Give the house a good cleaning.

2. Slang. an overwhelming or complete defeat, financial loss, or failure.

   Our team took a cleaning in yesterday's game.

3. Informal. killing.

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Other Word Forms

• self-cleaning adjective

Etymology

Origin of cleaning

First recorded in 1655–75; clean + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

He helps with physical care for his mum, as well as supporting his dad with things such as cooking dinner and cleaning the home.

From BBC

Unfortunately, Picnic’s mom lost that job a couple of years ago; in the last economic dip, the offices—several gray, joyless buildings filled with cubicles and meeting rooms—laid off half their cleaning staff.

From Literature

After polishing off the platter of food, and then the date-filled ma’amoul cookies that Zara’s mom also sent, we busy ourselves for the rest of the day, organizing and cleaning everything everywhere.

From Literature

A coming model can even climb stairs, cleaning each step as it ascends.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Look what I found when I was cleaning the yard?” he once said, holding up a 5-pound note.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• purification
• sanitation
• sterilization
• washing