Hooverize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To clean something completely using a vacuum cleaner or similar method
2. To remove dirt, dust, or debris thoroughly by vacuuming
3. To eliminate unwanted particles from a surface using suction from a vacuum device

Etymology: Herbert Hoover ran the United States Food Administration during the First World War, urging Americans to cut back on bread, meat, and sugar so that supplies could reach Europe. Thrift became a patriotic duty, and Hoover's name became a verb for it: to "hooverize" was to economize and do without. The term was apparently coined in a poem, which helped make it a wartime slogan. The meaning later swerved toward housework. The Hoover company's vacuum cleaners were so widely sold that the brand name became a common verb for vacuuming, and this sense of the word now dominates. Its origin in wartime rationing is still visible in the way the word means cutting something down to what is necessary.

Synonyms: vacuum, clean, suck up, extract, remove