clean up phrasal verb ( see also ↑ clean )
1 . to make a place completely clean and tidy:
We spent all Saturday morning cleaning up.
clean something ↔ up
plans to clean up the beaches
clean up after
John always expects other people to clean up after him (=to make a place clean after he has used it) .
2 . to wash yourself after you have got very dirty
clean yourself up
Let me just go clean myself up.
Dad’s upstairs getting cleaned up.
3 . clean up your act informal to start behaving sensibly and responsibly:
Some companies could face heavy fines if they fail to clean up their act.
4 . informal to win a lot of money or make a lot of money in a business deal:
He cleaned up at the races yesterday.
5 . clean something ↔ up to improve moral standards in a place or organization:
It’s high time British soccer cleaned up its image.
⇨ ↑ clean-up