From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishclean somebody/something out phrasal verb1 clean something ↔ outCLEAN to make the inside of a room, house etc clean or tidy We’d better clean out the attic this week.2 clean somebody out informalEXPENSIVE if something expensive cleans you out, you spend so much money on it that you now have very little left Our trip to Paris cleaned me out.3 clean somebody/something out informalSTEAL to steal everything from a place, or all of someone’s possessions → clean→ See Verb tableFrom Longman Business Dictionaryclean out phrasal verb [transitive]1 clean somebody/something out informal to take all the money of a person or organizationThe 16 bankrupt financial institutions threatened to clean out the central bank’s reserves.2 clean something → out to improve an organization by removing parts or people that are not making money or are not effective or honestThe banks must restructure to cut costs and clean out portfolios that are full of bad loans. → see also clean-out → clean→ See Verb tableclean-outˈclean-out noun [countable] when an organization is improved by removing parts or people that are not making money or are not effective or honestThe country needs a clean-out of the balance sheets of its industrial companies.
