Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To deprive completely of money or goods; to empty of contents, especially valuables or money: This meaning emphasizes removing everything, often leaving nothing behind, typically in a forceful, thorough, or financially draining manner.
   • To force out; to remove people from a place or organization, often to get rid of unwanted elements: This meaning focuses on ejecting or dismissing people, such as employees or occupants.
   • To empty something completely; to remove all contents from a container or space for cleaning or organizing: This is the most literal meaning, referring to the physical act of removing everything from a defined area.

Usage Examples

• Deprive of money/goods:
  • The casino trip completely cleaned me out; I don't have a dollar left.
  • The burglars cleaned out the safe and all the jewelry boxes.
• Force out people:
  • The new manager promised to clean out the incompetent staff.
  • The police cleaned out the illegal operation from the warehouse.
• Empty completely (for cleaning/organizing):
  • I need to clean out the garage this weekend; it's full of old boxes.
  • She cleaned out her purse and found her lost keys at the bottom.

Advanced Usage

• "to be cleaned out": This passive form is commonly used to describe a state of having been completely deprived of money or possessions.
  • After paying for the car repairs, I was completely cleaned out.
• The phrasal verb often carries a connotation of thoroughness and finality, whether applied to finances, people, or objects.

Variants and Related Words

• Cleanout (noun): An instance of cleaning out or an access point for cleaning (e.g., a pipe cleanout).
  • The plumber used the cleanout to clear the blockage.
• Cleaning (noun/gerund): The general activity of making something clean.
• Empty (verb): A more general synonym for removing contents.

Synonyms

• Deplete: To use up the supply or resources of.
• Strip: To remove everything from.
• Purge: To remove unwanted people or things, often from a group or place.
• Clear out: Very similar in meaning, often interchangeable in the "empty completely" sense.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Clean up: To make clean and tidy; also can mean to make a large profit.
  • Please clean up your room. (Tidy)
  • The company cleaned up with their new product. (Profited)
• Clear out: To leave a place quickly; or to remove things to make a space empty/tidy.
  • We had to clear out of the building during the fire drill. (Leave)
  • He cleared out his desk when he quit. (Emptied)

Related Idioms

• "Clean someone out of house and home": To consume all of someone's food and resources.
  • My teenage sons will clean me out of house and home if I don't go grocery shopping soon.
• "Clean sweep": A complete change or removal of all people or things.
  • The election resulted in a clean sweep for the new party.

Verb

1. deprive completely of money or goods
   • The robbers cleaned us out in a couple of hours
2. force out
   • The new boss cleaned out the lazy workers
3. empty completely
   • We cleaned out all the drawers