HOUSECLEANING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

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 conditions

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

  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)