to clean out
10
3.6
- phrasal verb
- /klin aʊt/
- Informal
:
despedir
- After the storm, we had to clean out the flooded basement to prevent mold growth.
- clean out my desk
- clean out his locker
- clean out corruption
You can't go down there and clean out the cartels and expect everything to go better.
- You can't go down there and clean out the cartels and expect everything to go better.
Examples
-
Alright, you're off the team, so go clean out your locker while you still got your teeth, Jack.
-
The landlord decided to clean out the old tenants who had not paid their rent in months.
-
There are a few items in my desk at your mother's apartment that I need to clean out.
Fiction book (2002) -
Conservatives need to clean out this mess they have in their midst.
Blog text (24) -
His wallet needed to be cleaned out.
Fiction book (1991) -
He's got enough strength to pull Steve clean out of the boat.
-
The Federal Trade Commission and the antitrust parts of the government have to be cleaned out and reworked.
-
Gov. Engler really cleaned out the welfare rolls in Michigan when he was governor.
Blog text (15) -
After the announcement, Harvard students stocking up on emergency supplies cleaned out shelves in the CVS on Mass Ave.
Blog text (11) -
The manager instructed the team to clean out the outdated files from the storage room.
Synonyms
∞
1.5
To move something or someone away from a place
∞
3.0
To free someone from something harmful or unwanted
∞
1.6
To remove or throw away something you do not want
948
1.9
To remove something from a place or container
523
2.7
To take something out of a place, often with effort
512
3.0
Force someone to leave a place or group
502
3.4
Remove or kill something completely so it is gone
260
1.0
To empty something completely
236
3.0
To force someone to leave a place, job, or group
189
4.2
Destroy something so nothing is left
136
3.2
To remove something unwanted from a place
91
3.1
Remove all things from a place so it becomes empty
73
4.8
Make a person or place free from unwanted feelings such as guilt
51
4.5
Force unwanted people or things out of a place, often using water
49
6.3
To remove unwanted substances, things, or people by cleaning
41
3.6
Make something unwanted go away, like an illness, a feeling, or a person following you
39
2.7
To throw away things you do not want
37
3.8
To remove unwanted people or things from a group
32
4.2
Force someone to leave a place
21
8.8
To remove all signs of something like a record or memory so it cannot be found
10
1.8
To take things away from a place to make it tidy
8
3.0
Remove things from a surface to make it empty or clean
6
4.2
To push something out with effort or pressure
5
5.0
To take out what is inside a container so it becomes empty
4
4.1
To throw away things you no longer want
3
4.0
To remove unwanted people or things to make a group work better
1
3.9
To destroy or carry something away completely, for example by water
1
2.2
To remove dirt or leaves from a place using a broom
1
5.0
To force someone to leave a place usually because they cause trouble
Antonyms
How Complete
70
3.8
194
5.0
- Informal
10
3.6
77
4.6
- Informal
4
7.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
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 picture of sweeping people or things out of a place, like pushing unwelcome people through the door. That's why it can mean 'to remove or eject' someone or something completely.