Clean up means to make a place clean and tidy again: a room, a kitchen, after a party or building work. If you deal with the mess someone else has made, you clean up after them. Figuratively, the phrase is used for putting a text or data in order: “clean up the report”.
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clean up + room/mess; clean it up; clean up after + person/party; clean up + text/data
- It took us two hours to clean up the kitchen after the birthday party.
- If your dog makes a mess in the park, you have to clean up after it.
- Before sending the essay, I cleaned up the second paragraph and cut a few repeated words.
What changed
First versionWe made cleaning after the party and went to bed at three.
RevisionWe cleaned up after the party and went to bed at three.
“Made cleaning” may look like a way to say you did the cleaning, but English does not say it like that. The verb itself describes the action: “we cleaned up”. There is also the phrase “do the cleaning”, but that is about regular housework, not tidying up after a party.
“Clean” without “up” simply means to remove dirt: “clean the windows”, “clean your teeth”. “Clean up” stresses that you are dealing with a mess and putting things back where they belong: “clean up the mess after dinner”.
Your turn
The children left toys and crumbs all over the flat, and I'm tired of having to ___ after them.
Show the answer
clean up — The fixed phrase is “clean up after someone”. Native speakers don't say “clean after them”: without “up”, the verb does not combine with “after” in this meaning.
Describe cleaning up after guests, a move or work on your home. Say what exactly you had to clean up and how long it took.
After we painted the bedroom, it took us almost three hours to clean up the paint on the floor.
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