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CLEANING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of making something clean
Example:
he gave his shoes a good cleaning
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("cleaning" is a kind of...):
improvement (the act of improving something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cleaning"):
disinfestation (the activity of getting rid of vermin)
spring-cleaning (the activity of cleaning a house thoroughly at the end of winter)
scouring; scrub; scrubbing (the act of cleaning a surface by rubbing it with a brush and soap and water)
dry cleaning (the act of cleaning (fabrics) with a solvent other than water)
sweeping (the act of cleaning with a broom)
purge; purging (an act of removing by cleansing; ridding of sediment or other undesired elements)
purification (the act of cleaning by getting rid of impurities)
sterilisation; sterilization (the procedure of making some object free of live bacteria or other microorganisms (usually by heat or chemical means))
sanitation; sanitisation; sanitization (making something sanitary (free of germs) as by sterilizing)
depilation; epilation (the act of removing hair (as from an animal skin))
bathing; washup (the act of washing yourself (or another person))
housecleaning (the act of cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a house)
Derivation:
clean (clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing)
clean (remove unwanted substances from)
clean (remove while making clean)
clean (make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from)
clean (clean and tidy up the house)
clean (be cleanable)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb clean
Context examples:
A device problem that occurred during or as the result of the cleaning, disinfecting, or sterilizing process.
(Device Cleaning Disinfecting Sterilization Problem Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)
Cedar oil is used in cleaning products and for aromatherapy.
(Cedrus deodara Seed Oil, NCI Thesaurus)
Pine oil is used for aromatherapy and for its antiseptic qualities in soaps and cleaning products.
(Pine Needle Oil (Pinus Sylvestris), NCI Thesaurus)
Carbon Tetrachloride is used as a solvent for oils and fats, as a refrigerant and as a dry-cleaning agent.
(Carbon Tetrachloride, NCI Thesaurus)
The products you use for cleaning, carpentry, auto repair, gardening, and many other household uses can contain ingredients that can harm you, your family, and the environment.
(Household Products, Environmental Protection Agency)
As to Summerlee, he was absorbed in the insect and bird life of the plateau, and spent his whole time (save that considerable portion which was devoted to abusing Challenger for not getting us out of our difficulties) in cleaning and mounting his specimens.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Meg longed to go and tell Mother, but a sense of shame at her own short-comings, of loyalty to John, who might be cruel, but nobody should know it, restrained her, and after a summary cleaning up, she dressed herself prettily, and sat down to wait for John to come and be forgiven.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
With trembling hand I conveyed the instruments out of the room, but I reflected that I ought not to leave the relics of my work to excite the horror and suspicion of the peasants; and I accordingly put them into a basket, with a great quantity of stones, and laying them up, determined to throw them into the sea that very night; and in the meantime I sat upon the beach, employed in cleaning and arranging my chemical apparatus.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
But the main—that's the big un, with the cloud on it—they usually calls the Spy-glass, by reason of a lookout they kept when they was in the anchorage cleaning, for it's there they cleaned their ships, sir, asking your pardon.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Round one of the fires were clustered four or five of the leading men of the archers, cleaning the rust from their weapons, and glancing impatiently from time to time at a great pot which smoked over the blaze.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
