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Definition of "housecleaning" []

  • The cleaning and tidying of a house and its contents. (noun)
  • Informal Removal of unwanted personnel, methods, or policies in an effort at reform or improvement. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "housecleaning" in a sentence
  • "In more modern times, thanks to Betty Friedan and her followers, housecleaning is deemed total drudgery and demeaning work -- something that evidently should be relegated to the untouchable class of India."
  • "The book Cold Sassy Tree briefly discusses the variations in housecleaning in the North and the South of the U.S."
  • "Major housecleaning is expected, and needed, and this could be a source of bargains in 2002."