English · Phrasal verb Attested

clean up after

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To clean areas and things that (somebody) has touched or dirtied.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

dọn dẹp khu vực và thứ đã bị (ai đó) chạm hoặc làm bẩn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Tom asked me if I could stay and help him clean up after the party.Tom hỏi tôi nếu tôi có thể ở lại và giúp anh ấy dọn dẹp sau bữa tiệc.

Tatoeba sentence #3620349 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To fix problems and difficult situations that (somebody) has continuously gotten themselves into.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

sửa chữa vấn đề và tình huống khó khăn mà (ai đó) liên tục gây ra

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

What does “clean up after” mean?

To clean areas and things that (somebody) has touched or dirtied.

Is “clean up after” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.