ruimen

Ruimen is a Dutch verb meaning to clear away, remove, or empty a space. It is used for actions such as clearing a surface or room of objects, or removing debris and clutter. In everyday language, ruimen describes making room or tidying up by taking things away.

Common uses include ruimen van de tafel (to clear the table), ruimen van puin (to clear debris), and ruimen van een kamer (to empty a room). The term can also be used more broadly to indicate removing obstacles or making space for something new. In some contexts, ruimen can carry a sense of evacuation or clearance in a physical or logistical sense, but the primary sense remains practical tidying and removal.

Conjugation and grammar: ruimen is a regular Dutch verb. Present tense forms include ik ruim, jij ruimt, hij/zij ruimt, wij ruimen, jullie ruimen, zij ruimen. Past tense is ruimde for singular and ruimden for plural. The past participle is geruimd, used with have: ik heb geruimd. The imperative singular is ruim, and the plural form is ruimen or simply use the imperative ruim op for a command.

Etymology and cognates: ruimen derives from Old Dutch and is cognate with related Germanic forms such as German räumen, sharing the core meaning of clearing or making space.

See also: cleaning, tidying, clearing debris. Note that ruimen is distinct from related terms such as ruïne (ruin) and from nouns referring to space or rooms.