1.
If you ~ a mess or ~ a place where there is a mess, you make things tidy and free of dirt again.
Police in the city have been cleaning up the debris left by a day of violent confrontation...
Nina and Mary were in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P
2.
To ~ something such as the environment or an industrial process means to make it free from substances or processes that cause pollution.
Under pressure from the public, many regional governments cleaned up their beaches.
PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)
3.
If the police or authorities ~ a place or area of activity, they make it free from crime, corruption, and other unacceptable forms of behaviour.
After years of neglect and decline the city was cleaning itself up...
Since then, the authorities have tried to ~ the sport.
PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)
4.
If you go and ~, you make yourself clean and tidy, especially after doing something that has made you dirty.
Johnny, go inside and get cleaned up...
I cleaned myself up a bit, and got the baby ready.
PHRASAL VERB: V P, V pron-refl P
5.
If someone cleans up, they make a large profit or get a lot of money. (INFORMAL)
It has cleaned up at the box office.
PHRASAL VERB: V P