Cleans up after many operations (4)
I believe the answer is:
mops
'cleans up' is the definition.
'mops' can be an answer for 'cleans' (mopping is a kind of cleaning). I'm unsure of the 'up' bit.
'after many operations' is the wordplay.
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'many' becomes 'm' (**).
'operations' becomes 'ops' (I have seen 'Military operations ' mean 'ops' so perhaps 'operations' could also mean 'ops').
'm' put next to 'ops' is 'MOPS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mops that I've seen before include "They're used to clean floors" , "grimaces" , "Swabs, wipes up" .)