clean out
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: clean OUT. Saying “CLEAN out” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /n/ of “clean” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “clean out” is said “clea-nout”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
2 meanings
- 1
To empty a space completely and clean it.
- “We spent Saturday cleaning out the garage.”
- “She cleaned out her desk on her last day.”
Similar: empty, clear out
- 2
To leave someone with no money.
informal- “That repair bill completely cleaned me out.”