English Dictionary

HOUSECLEANING

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does housecleaning mean? 

HOUSECLEANING (noun)
  The noun HOUSECLEANING has 2 senses:

1. (figurative) the act of reforming by the removal of unwanted personnel or practices or conditionsplay

2. the act of cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a houseplay

  Familiarity information: HOUSECLEANING used as a noun is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


HOUSECLEANING (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

(figurative) the act of reforming by the removal of unwanted personnel or practices or conditions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

many employees were discharged in a general housecleaning by the new owners

Hypernyms ("housecleaning" is a kind of...):

reform (a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses)

Domain usage:

figure; figure of speech; image; trope (language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense)


Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a house

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

efficient housecleaning should proceed one room at a time

Hypernyms ("housecleaning" is a kind of...):

cleaning; cleansing; cleanup (the act of making something clean)

Derivation:

houseclean (clean and tidy up the house)


 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Friend to all is a friend to none." (English proverb)

"Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way." (Native American proverb, Blackfoot)

"If the hair was precious, wouldn't grow on the ass." (Arabic proverb)

"A disaster never comes alone." (Croatian proverb)



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