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to clean litter box

to clean litter box

1.1
Remove waste from a cat's litter tray
  • phrasal verb
  • US
translation icon : limpiar la caja de arena
  • She cleans litter box every morning.

Examples

  • I need to clean litter box today.

  • It is important to clean litter box regularly to keep your cat happy and healthy.

  • Every morning, I clean litter box before leaving for work to keep the house smelling fresh.

  • She forgot to clean litter box, and now the room has a strong odor.

  • The veterinarian recommends that you clean litter box at least once a day to prevent health issues.

  • Make sure to clean litter box daily to prevent unpleasant odors in your home.

  • Before the new kitten arrives, remember to clean litter box and prepare a comfortable space.

Synonyms

to slop out
vsto clean litter box
  • Informal
9.8

To empty dirty liquid or other waste from a container like a bucket

is limited to removing waste from a pet's toilet tray

Antonyms

73 2.2

To make a place untidy by leaving rubbish and scattered things

How Clean

to sterilize
  • Specialized
29 4.1
to disinfect
18 3.7
to clean litter box
  • US
1.1
to scoop
127 1.9

Surface Forms

clean litter box infinitive
cleaned litter box past participle
cleaning litter box present participle
cleans litter box third person singular

Morphology

clean + litter + box

The action 'to remove waste' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'clean' (to remove dirt), 'litter' (animal bedding/waste) and 'box' (a container), with 'litter box' denoting the cat's tray. This is a literal verb + noun-phrase construction common across languages and in English, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning (the missing article in the example does not affect transparency).

Etymology

Clean litter box comes from the simple image of cleaning a cat's litter box, where you scoop out clumps and waste from the tray the cat uses as a toilet. So, it means 'to remove waste from a cat's toilet tray' to stop bad smells and keep the place healthy.