clean up — remove corruption
To eliminate unethical, illegal, or corrupt practices from an organization, institution, or system, often as part of reform.
Say it like a native
Textbook The new mayor pledged to eliminate corrupt practices from the police force.
Native The new mayor promised to clean up the police force.
'Clean up' is the natural verb for rooting out corruption; 'eliminate corrupt practices' is formal.
Pattern: clean up [something] | clean up [intransitive] (often used with institutions, politics, or systems)
In use
- The new government promised to clean up the police force and restore public trust.politics
- If governments are serious about fighting corruption, they must take concrete steps to clean up their institutions and enforce transparency.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He promised to clean up with the corruption.
✓ He promised to clean up the corruption. / ...clean up the department.
'Clean up' takes the object directly — no 'with'.
Common collocations
clean up + institution— the sport, politics, its act, the force
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense ('make clean'), this sense is figurative and refers to eliminating corruption or unethical behaviour, not physical dirt or mess. It is also distinct from the B2 sense ('make a large profit'), which focuses on financial gain.
Related
- clean up (make clean) — 'clean up' also has the more basic meaning 'make clean'; this is the advanced sense.