cleaning

[klee-ning]

noun

1. an act or instance of making clean.

   Give the house a good cleaning.

2. Slang.,  an overwhelming or complete defeat, financial loss, or failure.

   Our team took a cleaning in yesterday's game.

3. Informal.,  killing.

Other Word Forms

• self-cleaning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleaning¹

First recorded in 1655–75; clean + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

In other instances, candle wax has damaged some of the internal stones, along with burnt incense sticks leaving thick soot which has blackened some stones beyond cleaning.

From BBC

But smaller projects, such as "cleaning gutters and fixing ceilings" are taken on by the school's community.

From BBC

Services available to tenants for a fee include personal training and private yoga instruction, dry cleaning pickup and delivery, car washing, dog walking, grocery delivery and housekeeping.

From Los Angeles Times

Bishop said she and her partner spent $230,000 on a new irrigation system, cleaning equipment, trash removal and staff salaries.

From Los Angeles Times

A source told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that his body was discovered by cleaning staff who had thought that the toilet door was locked for days due to the facility being out of order.

From BBC

Related Words

• purification 
• sanitation 
• sterilization 
• washing