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Glite Dictionary
🧹 To empty 💸 To take all money 🚪 To remove people
to clean out

to clean out

91 3.2
Empty a place or container by removing everything inside
  • phrasal verb
  • /klin aʊt/
translation icon : vaciar
  • This weekend, I plan to clean out my closet and donate the clothes I no longer wear.
  • clean out closets
  • clean out lockers
  • clean out desks

Like I today I'm cleaning out my closet.

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Examples

  • We need to clean out the garage to make space for the new car.

  • Now clean out your locker, kid.

    Shrek the Third (2007)

  • So today we're going to be cleaning out all of these.

  • Time to clean out the garage, buddy, come on.

    Cars (2006)

  • But I have to spend the next week cleaning out the storage room.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I'll clean out my desk tonight.

    A Noble Lie: Oklahoma City 1995 (2012)

  • We cleaned out the nest.

    Vampires (1998)

  • And as I was cleaning out the garden bed, I found Zoe.

  • Let's let's all clean out our garages this weekend.

    Tom Ferry

  • The next day, Teresa got home from work and cleaned out her closet.

    Fiction book (2000)

Synonyms

to clean
vsto clean out
260 1.0

To empty something completely

is a phrasal form focusing on removing unwanted items
to empty
vsto clean out
179 1.0

To remove everything from a container or place

stresses removing all unwanted items as well as contents
to clear out
vsto clean out
91 3.1

Remove all things from a place so it becomes empty

is focused on removing unwanted items rather than moving oneself
to flush out
vsto clean out
51 4.5

Force unwanted people or things out of a place, often using water

describes general removal without using forceful expulsion
to purge
vsto clean out
49 6.3

To remove unwanted substances, things, or people by cleaning

focuses on removing contents rather than forcible elimination
to evacuate
vsto clean out
5 5.0

To take out what is inside a container so it becomes empty

is used to mean removing contents and unwanted items rather than emergency exit
to void
vsto clean out
2 5.8

To make a place empty by removing all people or things

is focused on removing contents and unwanted items specifically
to empty the tank
vsto clean out
3.9

Remove all fuel or other liquid from a tank until it is empty

is a general term for removing contents not limited to liquids
to slop out
vsto clean out
  • Informal
9.8

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

is more general, not limited to dirty liquids or waste removal

Antonyms

to fill
∞ 1.0

To make a place full by putting people or things into it

to stock
155 2.1

To keep things such as animals for use or sale

How Empty

to strip
42 2.7
to clean out
91 3.2
to empty
179 1.0

Surface Forms

clean out infinitive
cleaned out past
cleaned out past participle
cleaning out present participle
cleans out third person singular

Morphology

clean + out

The verb 'clean' combined with the particle 'out' conveys a sense of removing or emptying something completely, so a learner who knows both words can infer a general meaning like 'to remove everything from someone or something'. However, the specific sense of depriving someone of money or possessions (often by theft or spending) is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Clean out comes from the simple image of clearing a room: you take everything out until it is clean. So it means 'to empty' a place or container completely.