cleaner

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkli.nɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkliː.nə/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːnə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English clener, clenere, equivalent to clean +‎ -er (“agent noun”).

Noun

cleaner (plural cleaners)

1. A person whose occupation is to clean floors, windows and other things.
2. A device that cleans, such as the vacuum cleaner.
3. A substance used for cleaning, a cleaning agent.
4. (in the plural) A professional laundry or dry cleaner (business). (This form is now interpreted as plural and usually spelled without an apostrophe, even in official usage, to justify the removal of the apostrophe. It was traditionally spelled cleaner's with an apostrophe because this is grammatically correct, as can be seen with forms such as go to the doctor's, which cannot be reinterpreted as plural.)

   I'll have to take this shirt to the cleaners.

Derived terms

• air cleaner
• cleaneress (female cleaner)
• cleaner fish
• cleaner shrimp
• cleaner-upper
• cleaner-upperer
• drain cleaner
• dry-cleaner
• engine cleaner
• glass cleaner
• pipe cleaner
• service cleaner
• street cleaner
• suction cleaner
• vacuum cleaner
• way-cleaner
• window cleaner

 

Related terms

• (sense 3) cleanser
• take to the cleaners

Translations

person who cleans

• Albanian: pastrues (sq) m, pastruese (sq) f
• Arabic: مُنَظِّف‎ m (munaẓẓif), مُنَظِّفَة‎ f (munaẓẓifa)
• Armenian: հավաքարար (hy) (havakʿarar), հավաքարարուհի (hy) (havakʿararuhi) (female)
• Azerbaijani: süpürgəçi
• Basque: garbitzaile (eu)
• Belarusian: убіра́льнік m (ubirálʹnik), убіра́льніца f (ubirálʹnica), прыбіра́льнік m (prybirálʹnik), прыбіра́льніца f (prybirálʹnica), прыбіра́льшчык m (prybirálʹščyk), прыбіра́льшчыца f (prybirálʹščyca)
• Bulgarian: чиста́ч m (čistáč), чиста́чка (bg) f (čistáčka)
• Burmese: သန့်ရှင်းရေးသမား (san.hrang:re:sa.ma:)
• Catalan: netejador m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 清潔工 (zh), 清洁工 (zh) (qīngjiégōng)

• Czech: uklízeč m, uklízečka (cs) f
• Danish: pudser c, skraldemand c
• Dutch: schoonmaker (nl) m, schoonmaakster (nl) f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: koristaja (et)
• Finnish: siivooja (fi), siistijä (fi)
• French: nettoyeur (fr) m, nettoyeuse (fr) f
• Galician: limpador (gl) m
• Georgian: დამლაგებელი (damlagebeli), მწმენდავი (mc̣mendavi)
• German: Reinigungskraft (de) f, Gebäudereiniger m (building), Gebäudereinigerin f, Putzfrau (de) f (charwoman), Putzmann (de) m
• Greek: καθαριστής (el) m (katharistís), καθαρίστρια (el) f (katharístria)

  Ancient: καθαρτής m (kathartḗs)

• Hebrew: מְנַקֶּה‎ m (menaké)
• Hindi: क्लीनर m (klīnar), सफ़ाईकार m (safāīkār)
• Hungarian: takarító, takarítónő (hu), bejárónő (hu)
• Icelandic: hreingerningarmaður m, ræstingarkona f
• Italian: addetto alle pulizie m, addetta alle pulizie f
• Japanese: 清掃員 (せいそういん, seisōin), 掃除婦 (そうじふ, sōjifu) (female)
• Kazakh: сыпырушы (sypyruşy), тазалаушы (tazalauşy)
• Khmer: អ្នកបោសសំអាត (nĕək baoh sɑmʼaat), អ្នកបោសជូត (nĕək baoh cuut)
• Korean: 청소부(淸掃夫) (cheongsobu), 청소부(淸掃婦) (cheongsobu) (female), 소제부(掃除婦) (sojebu) (female)
• Kyrgyz: тазалагыч (ky) (tazalagıç)
• Latvian: apkopējs m, apkopēja f
• Lithuanian: valytojas m, valytoja f
• Macedonian: чистач m (čistač), чистачка f (čistačka)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: цэвэрлэгч (mn) (ceverlegč)

• Nepali: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: nettisseux m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: renholder (no) m, reinholder m

  Nynorsk: reinhaldar m

• Persian: نظافتچی‎ (fa) (nezâfatči)
• Polish: sprzątacz (pl) m, sprzątaczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: limpador m
• Romanian: om de serviciu m, femeie de serviciu f
• Russian: убо́рщик (ru) m (ubórščik), убо́рщица (ru) f (ubórščica)
• Scottish Gaelic: neach-glanaidh m or f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: чѝста̄ч m, чиста̀чица f

  Roman: čìstāč (sh) m, čistàčica (sh) f

• Slovak: upratovač m, upratovačka f
• Slovene: čistilec m, čistilka f, snažilec m, snažilka f
• Spanish: limpiador m
• Swedish: städare (sv) c, städerska (sv) c (female)
• Tagalog: tagalinis
• Tajik: фаррош (farroš)
• Tatar: җыештыручы (tt) (cıyeştıruçı)
• Thai: คนทำความสะอาด (kon-tam-kwaam-sà-àat)
• Turkish: temizlikçi (tr), hademe (tr)
• Ukrainian: прибира́льник (uk) m (prybyrálʹnyk), прибира́льниця (uk) f (prybyrálʹnycja)
• Urdu: کِلِینَر‎ m (klīnar)
• Uzbek: farrosh (uz), tozalovchi (uz)
• Vietnamese: người quét dọn nhà cửa
• Volapük: (♂♀) klinükan, (♂) hiklinükan, (♀) jiklinükan (vo)

device that cleans

• Dutch: reiniger (nl) m
• Finnish: puhdistin; imuri (fi) (vacuum cleaner)
• French: nettoyeur (fr) m
• Hungarian: takarítógép
• Norman: nettisseux m
• Portuguese: limpador m
• Romanian: aspirator (ro) n (vacuum cleaner)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: чѝста̄ч m

  Roman: čìstāč (sh) m

substance used for cleaning

• Dutch: reinigingsmiddel (nl) n, reiniger (nl) m
• Finnish: puhdistusaine
• French: nettoyant (fr) m
• German: Reiniger m
• Hungarian: tisztítószer (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: rengjøringsmiddel n

• Romanian: detergent (ro) m
• Russian: очисти́тель (ru) m (očistítelʹ)
• Swedish: rengöringsmedel (sv) n

professional laundry

• Arabic:

  Moroccan Arabic: مصبنة‎ f (maṣbana)

• Dutch: wasserij (nl) f
• Finnish: pesula (fi)
• French: pressing (fr) m
• Hungarian: tisztító (hu), vegytisztító (hu), ruhatisztító (hu), (industrial dry-cleaner or self-service establishment) mosoda (hu)
• Portuguese: lavanderia (pt) f
• Romanian: curățătorie (ro) f

Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle English clener, clenner, clanner, clannere, from Old English clǣnra, clǣnre (“cleaner, purer, clearer”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainiʀō (“daintier, more delicate”), from Proto-Germanic *klainizô (“shinier, finer, more splendid”), equivalent to clean +‎ -er.

Adjective

cleaner

1. comparative form of clean: more clean

Anagrams

• Carlene, reclean