A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects a liquid from a plurality of nozzles disposed in a nozzle surface, a wiping member that wipes the nozzle surface, and a wiping member moving mechanism that moves the wiping member between a wiping position where the nozzle surface is wiped and a retracted position. The wiping member moving mechanism has a wiping member holding mechanism that holds the wiping member and a holding state releasing mechanism that releases a holding state of the wiping member holding mechanism in a case where a load that is equal to or higher than a set value is received.