clean out
phrasal verb
cleaned out; cleaning out; cleans out
1
: to remove unwanted things from (a room, closet, etc.)
We spent the weekend cleaning out the garage.
2
informal
: to steal or take everything from (someone or something)
The thieves broke in and cleaned out the store.
3
informal
: to use up all or most of the money of (someone)
Buying the house really cleaned us out. Now we're broke.
Examples of clean out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Carlsbad’s Agua Hedionda lagoon is cleaned out the most frequently, every four or five years, formerly to keep seawater flowing to the Encina power plant and now for the Carlsbad desalination plant.
—
Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2025
Similar to the lint trap in your dryer, or the filter in your air conditioner, your microwave also has a filter that needs to be cleaned out, too.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2025
She was intubated for nearly a week while medical staff at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola worked to save her, including repeatedly scrubbing and cleaning out her leg to remove any dying tissue.
—Mollye Barrows, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Tackle Laremy Tunsil, in whom Washington has invested so much, pulled left and cleaned out Nubin.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean out
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Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2025
Similar to the lint trap in your dryer, or the filter in your air conditioner, your microwave also has a filter that needs to be cleaned out, too.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2025
She was intubated for nearly a week while medical staff at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola worked to save her, including repeatedly scrubbing and cleaning out her leg to remove any dying tissue.
—Mollye Barrows, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Tackle Laremy Tunsil, in whom Washington has invested so much, pulled left and cleaned out Nubin.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean out
Cite this Entry
“Clean out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20out. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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