50 Idioms for Cleaning With Meanings & Sentences
Idioms for Cleaning
1. Clean as a whistle
Meaning: Completely clean or spotless.
In a Sentence: The kitchen was as clean as a whistle after Mom finished. / His room is now clean as a whistle.
Other Ways to Say: Spotless, Neat and tidy
2. Clean slate
Meaning: A fresh start or beginning again without past mistakes.
In a Sentence: After moving to a new city, Mark felt like he had a clean slate. / Starting a new school gave Emma a clean slate.
Other Ways to Say: Fresh start, New beginning
3. Spick and span
Meaning: Extremely clean and well-organized.
In a Sentence: The house looked spick and span before the guests arrived. / Her desk is always spick and span.
Other Ways to Say: Tidy, Immaculate
4. Dust yourself off
Meaning: To recover and try again after a failure.
In a Sentence: After losing the race, Mia dusted herself off and trained harder. / You just need to dust yourself off and keep going.
Other Ways to Say: Pick yourself up, Move forward
5. Air out the dirty laundry
Meaning: To talk about private or embarrassing matters in public.
In a Sentence: Let’s not air our dirty laundry at the meeting. / She aired her dirty laundry on social media.
Other Ways to Say: Expose secrets, Make problems public
6. Sweep under the rug
Meaning: To hide or ignore something instead of dealing with it.
In a Sentence: They tried to sweep the issue under the rug. / Don’t sweep your mistakes under the rug.
Other Ways to Say: Ignore, Bury the issue
7. Wipe the slate clean
Meaning: To forget past problems and start anew.
In a Sentence: Let’s wipe the slate clean and try again. / They wiped the slate clean after the argument.
Other Ways to Say: Start over, Begin fresh
8. Spring cleaning
Meaning: A thorough cleaning, usually done seasonally.
In a Sentence: We do spring cleaning every March. / Spring cleaning makes the house feel brand new.
Other Ways to Say: Deep clean, Full tidy-up
9. Clean house
Meaning: To remove unwanted people or things.
In a Sentence: The coach cleaned house after the losing season. / The company cleaned house by firing the lazy staff.
Other Ways to Say: Make changes, Remove the bad
10. Clean up your act
Meaning: Improve your behavior or performance.
In a Sentence: You need to clean up your act before the teacher gets involved. / He cleaned up his act after getting a warning.
Other Ways to Say: Behave, Shape up
11. In mint condition
Meaning: In perfect, like-new condition.
In a Sentence: The toy was in mint condition even after all these years. / Her shoes looked like they were in mint condition.
Other Ways to Say: Like new, Spotless
12. Polish up
Meaning: To improve or perfect something.
In a Sentence: I need to polish up my presentation. / She polished up her shoes before the interview.
Other Ways to Say: Refine, Touch up
13. Squeaky clean
Meaning: Very clean or morally perfect.
In a Sentence: His kitchen is always squeaky clean. / She has a squeaky clean reputation.
Other Ways to Say: Pure, Impeccable
14. Fresh as a daisy
Meaning: Looking or feeling fresh and clean.
In a Sentence: After a shower, she felt fresh as a daisy. / He looked fresh as a daisy in his new clothes.
Other Ways to Say: Refreshed, Clean
15. Clean sweep
Meaning: To win everything or remove everything.
In a Sentence: Our team made a clean sweep of all the awards. / Management did a clean sweep of the lazy staff.
Other Ways to Say: Total win, Full removal
16. Brush it off
Meaning: To not let something bother you.
In a Sentence: He just brushed off the insult and walked away. / Learn to brush it off and keep moving.
Other Ways to Say: Ignore it, Let it go
17. Blow away the cobwebs
Meaning: To refresh your mind or surroundings.
In a Sentence: A morning jog helps blow away the cobwebs. / Cleaning my room really blew away the cobwebs.
Other Ways to Say: Clear your head, Refresh
18. Get your hands dirty
Meaning: To do physical or difficult work.
In a Sentence: He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. / We all got our hands dirty during the cleanup.
Other Ways to Say: Do the hard work, Be involved
19. Scrub up well
Meaning: To look nice after cleaning or dressing up.
In a Sentence: He really scrubs up well in that tuxedo! / She scrubbed up well for the party.
Other Ways to Say: Look sharp, Dress nicely
20. Mop the floor with
Meaning: To defeat someone completely.
In a Sentence: Our team mopped the floor with theirs! / He mopped the floor with his opponent.
Other Ways to Say: Crush, Defeat
21. Wipe out
Meaning: To eliminate or destroy completely.
In a Sentence: The storm wiped out all the plants. / He wiped out his savings on a new car.
Other Ways to Say: Erase, Remove
22. Wash your hands of
Meaning: To stop being involved in something.
In a Sentence: She washed her hands of the project. / I’m washing my hands of this drama.
Other Ways to Say: Step away, Disengage
23. Clean break
Meaning: A complete separation without issues.
In a Sentence: They made a clean break after the argument. / I want a clean break from the past.
Other Ways to Say: Full separation, Fresh start
24. Dirty work
Meaning: Unpleasant tasks others avoid.
In a Sentence: Someone has to do the dirty work. / She always ends up doing the dirty work at the office.
Other Ways to Say: Hard labor, Thankless tasks
25. Clean-cut
Meaning: Neat and tidy appearance.
In a Sentence: He’s very clean-cut and polite. / The job requires a clean-cut look.
Other Ways to Say: Sharp-looking, Neatly dressed
26. Come Clean
Meaning: To confess or tell the truth.
In a Sentence: Jake finally came clean about breaking the vase. / She came clean about cheating on the test.
Other Ways to Say: Confess, Tell the truth
27. Polish the Apple
Meaning: To try to gain favor by flattering someone, especially a teacher or boss.
In a Sentence: He’s always polishing the apple with the manager. / Stop polishing the apple and do your work.
Other Ways to Say: Suck up, Butter up
28. Clean as a Whistle
Meaning: Extremely clean or very honest.
In a Sentence: Her kitchen is clean as a whistle. / His criminal record is clean as a whistle.
Other Ways to Say: Spotless, Pure
29. Sweep Under the Rug
Meaning: To hide or ignore something unpleasant.
In a Sentence: They tried to sweep the scandal under the rug. / Don’t sweep your problems under the rug.
Other Ways to Say: Hide, Cover up
30. Wipe the Slate Clean
Meaning: To forget past problems and start fresh.
In a Sentence: Let’s wipe the slate clean and be friends again. / The new management wiped the slate clean.
Other Ways to Say: Start anew, Reset
31. Wash One’s Hands of Something
Meaning: To stop being involved in a situation.
In a Sentence: I’m washing my hands of this argument. / He washed his hands of the issue.
Other Ways to Say: Disengage, Step away
32. In the Wash
Meaning: Lost or forgotten among other things.
In a Sentence: My homework got lost in the wash of all my tasks. / The receipt got lost in the wash.
Other Ways to Say: Overlooked, Forgotten
33. Hang Out to Dry
Meaning: To abandon someone in a difficult situation.
In a Sentence: He hung me out to dry during the presentation. / Don’t hang your team out to dry.
Other Ways to Say: Betray, Leave helpless
34. Mop the Floor with Someone
Meaning: To defeat someone easily.
In a Sentence: Our team mopped the floor with the competition. / She mopped the floor with her opponent.
Other Ways to Say: Dominate, Crush
35. A Wash
Meaning: A situation with no clear winner or loser.
In a Sentence: The match ended in a wash. / Financially, the deal was a wash.
Other Ways to Say: Draw, Tie
36. Scrub Up
Meaning: To clean oneself thoroughly, especially hands and arms before surgery.
In a Sentence: The doctors scrubbed up before the operation. / She scrubbed up before dinner.
Other Ways to Say: Clean up, Disinfect
37. Put Through the Wringer
Meaning: To experience a tough or stressful situation.
In a Sentence: He was put through the wringer during the interview. / The audit put us through the wringer.
Other Ways to Say: Struggle, Suffer
38. Make a Clean Breast Of
Meaning: To confess fully.
In a Sentence: She made a clean breast of her mistake. / He made a clean breast of the theft.
Other Ways to Say: Admit everything, Come clean
39. Spotless Reputation
Meaning: A reputation with no flaws or negative remarks.
In a Sentence: The judge had a spotless reputation. / Her record is spotless.
Other Ways to Say: Untarnished, Clean record
40. Neaten Up
Meaning: To tidy or organize something.
In a Sentence: Please neaten up your desk. / She neatened up the living room before guests arrived.
Other Ways to Say: Straighten, Organize
41. Wipe Away the Past
Meaning: To forget previous experiences or events.
In a Sentence: Changing cities helped her wipe away the past. / He wanted to wipe away the past and start fresh.
Other Ways to Say: Move on, Start over
42. Scrape the Bottom of the Barrel
Meaning: Using the least desirable options because nothing better is left.
In a Sentence: We were scraping the bottom of the barrel with those supplies. / This is what happens when you scrape the bottom of the barrel.
Other Ways to Say: Use leftovers, Desperate choice
43. Sweep Off Your Feet
Meaning: To impress someone greatly.
In a Sentence: He swept her off her feet with his charm. / The movie swept me off my feet.
Other Ways to Say: Amaze, Win over
44. Shine Up
Meaning: To polish or improve the appearance of something.
In a Sentence: She shined up her shoes for the interview. / The team shined up the presentation.
Other Ways to Say: Polish, Clean up
45. Get the Broom
Meaning: To fire or dismiss someone.
In a Sentence: The lazy worker got the broom. / If you’re not careful, you’ll get the broom too.
Other Ways to Say: Be let go, Be dismissed
46. Polish the Surface
Meaning: To improve how something looks without fixing deeper issues.
In a Sentence: That plan only polishes the surface of the real problem. / They polished the surface, but the core issue remains.
Other Ways to Say: Superficial fix, Cover-up
47. Rinse and Repeat
Meaning: To repeat a process over and over.
In a Sentence: It’s just rinse and repeat with this boring job. / Clean the dish, rinse, and repeat.
Other Ways to Say: Do again, Repeat the cycle
48. Squeaky Clean
Meaning: Extremely clean or morally pure.
In a Sentence: He always keeps his room squeaky clean. / She’s squeaky clean—never even got a detention.
Other Ways to Say: Spotless, Innocent
49. Wipe it Down
Meaning: To clean something with a cloth.
In a Sentence: Please wipe down the counter after cooking. / He wiped down the gym equipment after use.
Other Ways to Say: Clean, Sanitize
50. Sweep It Clean
Meaning: To clear something out completely.
In a Sentence: Let’s sweep this office clean before the inspection. / The wind swept the beach clean of footprints.
Other Ways to Say: Clear out, Clean completely
