Opschonen

Opschonen is a Dutch verb meaning to clean up or purify. It covers both literal cleaning of physical spaces and more figurative processes such as correcting data, tidying records, or reorganizing procedures.

Etymology: The verb is formed from schoon (clean) with the separable prefix op-, which conveys completing or thoroughly performing the action.

In everyday language, opschonen describes tasks like tidying a room, cleaning streets, or clearing clutter from a workspace.

In information technology and data management, opschonen refers to data cleansing: removing duplicates, correcting errors, standardizing formats, and completing missing values to improve data quality.

In governance and organizational contexts, the term can denote reforms intended to remove inefficiencies or corruption, sometimes involving personnel changes or policy revisions, and is sometimes described as an opschonen of the organization.

Grammatical note: opschonen is a separable verb. In Dutch, the prefix op- typically moves to the end of the clause, yielding forms such as ik ruim op and wij ruimden op; the past participle is opgeruimd. An example: We moeten de database opschonen.