Quick Reference
The verb "clean" typically implies the use of soap, water, and/or other cleaning products to remove dirt, dust, mildew, fungi, or other unwanted particles and substances which cover surfaces. (Example: "I need to clean the kitchen counter." "Could you clean the bathtub?")
The phrasal verb "clean up" typically means to tidy and organize, or to make something look neat. (Example: "I need to clean up the living room. It's a mess.")
"Clean" and "clean up" are used interchangeably in some contexts. (Example: "Clean your room" and "Clean up your room.")
You can "clean" and "clean up" places and surfaces, but the meaning will be different. ("I cleaned up the bookshelves," meaning I organized the bookshelves, versus "I cleaned the bookshelves," meaning I wiped the shelves to remove dust.)
Take a look at these two questions:
"Could you clean the table?"
"Could you clean up the table?"
Is there a difference between these requests? Do "clean" and "clean up" mean the same thing? Or do they change the context of the situation? That is what we are going to learn today.
In brief, while "clean" and "clean up" are sometimes used interchangeably, they are different. Here is how:
"Clean" is a verb which usually means to remove dirt, dust, or other unwanted particles or substances from a space or surface. When you clean, you have to use cleaning products, such as soap, water, brooms, vacuums, cloths, et cetera. So, if someone tells you to clean the table, they probably want you to wipe it with a wet cloth.
On the other hand, "clean up" is a phrasal verb which means to tidy or organize a space or surface. The opposite of cleaning up is making a mess. For example, when you clean up a space, such as a bedroom, your goal is to make that bedroom less messy. This means that you arrange the objects in the room in a tidy way. In the same way, if someone tells you to clean up the table, they probably want you to remove any unnecessary objects from the table, and to organize the objects which remain on it.
Is this making sense so far? Okay, now for another question:
What can you clean and what can you clean up?
Typically, you can "clean" and "clean up" a space or a surface. You might hear someone say, "I need to clean up the garage," or "I need to clean the garage." "You should clean up your desk," or "You should clean your desk." "I want to clean up my bookshelf this weekend," or "I want to clean my bookshelf this weekend." "Did you clean up the dining room?" or "Did you clean the dining room?" In all of these cases, "clean" is a bit more serious than "clean up." It implies a bit more effort because it typically implies the use of cleaning tools and products.
Let's go back to the bookshelf example. If you say, "I want to clean up my bookshelf this weekend," you mean you want to organize the books on your bookshelf. You want them to be in a specific order. However, if you say, "I want to clean my bookshelf this weekend," you mean that you want to remove the books from your bookshelf and wash the physical shelves, probably because they have become too dusty. Is that clear? Good! Let's continue.
In addition to spaces and surfaces, you can also use "clean" and "clean up" when you are talking about objects. However, sometimes, only one of the word options really makes sense. For instance, while you could say, "She needs to clean up the papers on her desk," it would sound strange to say, "She needs to clean the papers on her desk." Very few people would wipe or vacuum a stack of papers.
Here are some other examples of "clean up" with objects:
"Did you clean up your schoolbooks?"
"You should clean up the stuff in your drawer."
"He has to clean up his toys. They're all over his room."
Of course, you can clean objects as well. You can clean your phone, your laptop, or a bowl. However, when soap and water become involved, the verb "wash" is usually preferred. To give you a specific and unique example of this, if you say "I need to clean my car," most people assume you need to clean the inside of your car--probably by using a vacuum and a wet cloth. However, if you say "I need to wash my car," there is only one meaning: You need to use soap and water on the outside--the exterior--of your car. This is why the place where you go to wash your car is called a car wash and not a car clean.
So, are there certain things we can't "clean up"?
This one is a little funny. As you probably know, you can clean your clothes. But you can't clean up your clothes unless you are picking them up from various surfaces because they are scattered around a room and the room looks messy as a result.
You can clean a wall, but you can't clean it up unless you are organizing posters, picture frames, or other objects on it because the organization of these these things doesn't look nice on the wall.
You can clean a garbage bin, but you can't clean up a garbage bin unless you are organizing the garbage that is inside it.
Finally, you can clean (or wash) a plate, but you can't clean up a plate unless you are a chef who is arranging the food on a plate because you care about food presentation.
As you can see, context is important.
Is there a difference between "clean" and "clean up"?
To sum up, yes, there is a difference between "clean" and "clean up." Cleaning implies the use of cleaning products to remove dust or other unwanted substances from spaces or surfaces, while cleaning up implies organizing a space or surface. Both can also be used with objects, but you should always keep context in mind.
If you found this page useful, and if you would like to learn more common phrasal verbs such as "clean up," you can purchase the PDF, e-book, or physical version of my book, 100 Practical English Phrasal Verbs. When you buy one of my books, you help yourself, but you also help me to continue doing the work I love.
Thank you for learning with me today, and remember to keep practicing.
How often do you clean your room? Is there any area in your home that needs to be cleaned up right now? Let me know!