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
Parsons is also grateful to have found an ironstone soup tureen when cleaning out her late grandmother’s attic.
—
Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 8 July 2024
According to the Times, the daguerreotype’s anonymous sellers discovered it while cleaning out the basement of a family member who had died.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 July 2024
At the Molly Pitcher dairy farm five miles down the road from Volvo Construction Equipment, farmers use an electric wheel loader to move feed, clean out barn floors and help lift and maintain pumps.
—Nicolás Rivero, Washington Post, 17 June 2024
In the corner, Glass was running an aquarium net through the holding tank, cleaning out dead eels and searching for killers.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for clean out 
Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 8 July 2024
According to the Times, the daguerreotype’s anonymous sellers discovered it while cleaning out the basement of a family member who had died.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 July 2024
At the Molly Pitcher dairy farm five miles down the road from Volvo Construction Equipment, farmers use an electric wheel loader to move feed, clean out barn floors and help lift and maintain pumps.
—Nicolás Rivero, Washington Post, 17 June 2024
In the corner, Glass was running an aquarium net through the holding tank, cleaning out dead eels and searching for killers.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for clean out
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clean out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Clean out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20out. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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