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Glite Dictionary
to vacuum-clean

to vacuum-clean

2.1
To clean a carpet or floor with a vacuum cleaner
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈvæk.juːm.kliːn/
translation icon : aspirar
  • She vacuum-cleaned the entire house on Saturday morning.

Examples

  • I need to vacuum-clean the living room before the guests arrive.

  • She vacuum-cleans every Saturday morning.

  • Could you vacuum-clean the carpet while I dust the shelves?

  • Please vacuum-clean the living room before guests arrive.

  • I need to vacuum-clean the living room before the guests arrive.

  • Could you vacuum-clean the carpet while I dust the shelves?

  • She vacuum-cleaned the entire house on Saturday morning.

Synonyms

to clean
vsto vacuum-clean
∞ 1.0

To remove dirt and stains

is limited to using a suction machine rather than any other dirt removal method
to vacuum
vsto vacuum-clean
48 1.7

Clean a floor or carpet with a machine that sucks up dirt

applies to removing dirt from many surfaces using a suction machine
to hoover
vsto vacuum-clean
  • UK
3 4.2

To clean a floor or carpet with a vacuum cleaner

is used to remove dirt from various objects with a suction machine
to hoover up
vsto vacuum-clean
  • UK
1 4.3

To clean a carpet or floor using a vacuum cleaner

means removing dirt with a suction machine without implying speed or thoroughness

How Clean

to steam
9 1.7
to vacuum-clean
2.1
to wipe
531 1.0
to dust
66 1.0

Surface Forms

vacuum-clean infinitive
vacuum-cleaned past
vacuum-cleaned past participle
vacuum-cleaning present participle
vacuum-cleans third person singular

Morphology

vacuum-clean = vacuum + clean (transparent) = vacuum + clean

Meaning is directly derived from 'vacuum' + 'clean' — to clean using a vacuum (cleaner) — which a B1 learner can infer from the components.

Etymology

The word vacuum-clean comes from vacuum ('empty') and clean ('to make clean'). A vacuum cleaner makes a small 'empty' space that pulls dirt in, so to vacuum-clean something is to clean it by sucking up the dust.