VocabauraVOCABAURA

cleaning

noun

Simple meaning

The afterbirth of cows.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kleening

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈklinɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. gerund of clean

    The act of making something clean

    “He gave his shoes a good cleaning.”

  2. gerund of clean

    The process of making something clean.

  3. The afterbirth of cows, ewes, etc.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The act of making something clean

Used this way, cleaning is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He gave his shoes a good cleaning.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use cleaning

  • “He gave his shoes a good cleaning.”noun

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “cleaning”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

dry cleaningcleaning womanspring cleaningcleaning ladyhouse cleaningcleaning processcleaning solutioncleaning equipment

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • cleanverbBase word

    Make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • cleanernounPerson or profession · specialist

    A preparation used in cleaning something.

  • cleanlyadverbDerived adverb

    Smoothly and without difficulty.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • cleaning implementnounCompound term

    Any of a large class of implements used for cleaning.

  • cleaning ladynounCompound term

    A human female employed to do housework.

  • cleaning padnounCompound term

    A pad used as a cleaning implement.

  • cleaning womannounCompound term

    A human female employed to do housework.

  • cleaning devicenounCompound term

    Any of a large class of implements used for cleaning.

  • cleaning equipmentnounCompound term

    Any of a large class of implements used for cleaning.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • cleansernounRelated term

    A preparation used in cleaning something.

  • cleansing agentnounRelated term

    A preparation used in cleaning something.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: making something clean

cleanup

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “cleaning” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.