clean

1 of 4

adjective

ˈklēn

: free from dirt or pollution

changed to clean clothes

clean solar energy

: free from contamination or disease

a clean wound

: free or relatively free from radioactivity

a clean atomic explosion

: unadulterated, pure

the clean thrill of one's first flight

of a precious stone : having no interior flaws visible

: free from growth that hinders tillage

clean farmland

: free from moral corruption or sinister connections of any kind

a candidate with a clean record

also : free from violations

a clean driving record

: free from offensive treatment of sexual subjects and from the use of obscenity

a clean joke

: observing the rules : fair

a clean fight

: ceremonially or spiritually pure

and all who are clean may eat flesh

Leviticus 7:19 (Revised Standard Version)

: thorough, complete

a clean break with the past

: deftly executed : skillful

clean ballet technique

The gymnast made a clean landing.

: hit beyond the reach of an opponent

a clean single to center

: relatively free from error or blemish : clear

specifically : legible

clean copy

: unencumbered

clean bill of sale

: characterized by clarity and precision : trim

a clean prose style

architecture with clean almost austere lines

: even, smooth

a clean edge

a sharp blow causing a clean break

: free from external hindrances to smooth flow (as of water or air)

a clean airplane

a ship with a clean bottom

: empty

the ship returned with a clean hold

: free from drug addiction

has been clean for six months

slang : having no contraband (such as weapons or drugs) in one's possession

All visitors to the prison are searched to make sure they're clean.

of a computer : not having anything added by a user

installed the software on a clean computer

: habitually neat

clean

2 of 4

adverb

: so as to clean

a new broom sweeps clean

: in a clean manner

play the game clean

: all the way : completely

the bullet went clean through his arm

clean

3 of 4

verb

cleaned; cleaning; cleans

transitive verb

: to make clean: such as

(1)

: to rid of dirt, impurities, or extraneous matter

clean a wound

(2)

: to rid of corruption

vowing to clean up city hall

: remove, eradicate

—usually used with up or off

clean up that mess

: strip, empty

a tree cleaned of fruit

: to remove the entrails from

clean fish

: to deprive of money or possessions

—often used with out

they cleaned him out completely

intransitive verb

: to undergo or perform a process of cleaning

clean up before dinner

cleanability

ˌklē-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē

noun

cleanable

ˈklē-nə-bəl

adjective

clean

4 of 4

noun

: an act of cleaning dirt especially from the surface of something

She gave the tub a good clean.

Phrases

clean house

: to clean a house and its furniture

: to make sweeping reforms or changes (as of personnel)

clean one's clock

: to beat one badly in a fight or competition

clean up one's act

: to behave in a more acceptable manner

Example Sentences

Adjective This table isn't clean. There's a sticky spot where something spilled. He keeps a very clean house. The janitor does a good job of keeping the office clean. I wiped the baby's face clean. He's a clean young man. Cats are very clean animals. Solar power provides clean energy. Adverb Somehow, the top of the machine came clean off. The nail went clean through the wall. The fish were jumping clean out of the water. Verb The carpet needs to be cleaned. They divide household duties so that she cleans and her husband cooks. They cleaned the fish and cooked them on the campfire. skin and clean a rabbit See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Those investments, Biden said, helped Indian Country vaccinate residents, rebuild roads, provide clean drinking water and more.

Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 30 Nov. 2022 Wells of Life is currently drilling their 1000th well in Uganda, providing clean water to 1,000,000 people, unlocking education, economic opportunity, and improved health.

Dominique Fluker, Essence, 29 Nov. 2022 If the rail network came to a halt, chemicals necessary to ensure clean drinking water would not reach communities, and farms and ranches would be unable to feed their livestock, among other things.

Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 29 Nov. 2022 Communities could lose access to chemicals necessary to ensure clean drinking water.

Michael Collins, USA TODAY, 29 Nov. 2022 Then rinse off the lemon juice and gunk with clean water.

Brett Martin, Popular Mechanics, 29 Nov. 2022 Open, full service resumed at 9 a.m. with reserve of clean water.

Emma Balter, Chron, 28 Nov. 2022 Communities could lose access to chemicals necessary to ensure clean drinking water.

Noam Scheiber, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2022 His advocacy for clean water and addressing sea-level rise has even inspired others to run for office, including Paloma Aguirre.

San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022

Adverb

Solar power and wind power are growing fast in the Netherlands, and now interest is shifting to hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel that companies are betting will be used in large volumes to store energy and power heavy vehicles and heavy industry.

Clifford Krauss, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2022 Some clean-eating plans even eschew whole-food staples like dairy, grains, and naturally occurring sugars.

Christine Byrne, Outside Online, 14 Mar. 2019 The three — Robert Kramer and Libbie Pelter, at Purdue’s Northwest campus in Hammond, and John Patterson, at the West Lafayette campus — have developed a process to produce hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel, from food waste.

Tim Zorn, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2022 Very clean-tasting, with a hint of orange-creamsickle notes and some tangerine.

cleveland, 8 May 2022 And while enthusiasm marked the conversation on clean-burning hydrogen, some sounded caution about how the technology is scaled up.

Denise Chow, NBC News, 12 May 2022 At the same time, the gas company notes that hydrogen could dramatically reduce hazardous air pollution from heavy-duty trucks, estimating that Angeles Link could deliver enough clean-burning fuel to displace 3 million gallons of diesel each day.

Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2022 New research and a slew of industry announcements promise clean-burning hydrogen at $1 per kilogram will displace fossil fuels used in industries from steel to shipping.

Michael J. Coren, Quartz, 29 Dec. 2021 Without the mess of ash and soot, these clean-burning units require much less upkeep than traditional wood-burning fireplaces, but a bit of gas fireplace maintenance is essential to keep yours in top shape.

Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Oct. 2021

Verb

Smaller, magnifying mirrors are ideal for perfectionists who have mastered the brow clean-up in between salon visits, or for those who can't bear the sight of pesky hair on their chin.

Nerisha Penrose, ELLE, 1 Dec. 2022 These lean, mean, and clean low-tops from Charles Tyrwhitt have a nice leather upper with a flexible rubber sole for a comfortable black tie look.

Maverick Li, Men's Health, 1 Dec. 2022 For instance, attach the crevice tool to clean in between couch cushions or add the smaller brush to focus on upholstered items.

Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 1 Dec. 2022 If McVay is forced to clean house come the end of the season, maybe Coen wants to avoid being on the chopping block and decides to move back to Lexington before that comes to pass.

Ryan Black, The Courier-Journal, 1 Dec. 2022 The rounded design of the purifier along with its 360-degree air intake helps to clean spaces of up to 547-square feet in half an hour.

Gabriela Izquierdo, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Nov. 2022 Tribes up and down the river continue to fight for their right to a traditional diet and to clean fish.

oregonlive, 29 Nov. 2022 Check out our full guide on how to clean your leather jacket at home for more cleaning tips.

Emma Seymour, Good Housekeeping, 29 Nov. 2022 For hosts who clean the rentals themselves, the money might cover the cost of cleaning supplies.

CBS News, 28 Nov. 2022

Noun

Thanks to a long battery life and state-of-the-art razor sensors, your morning clean-up is bound to get that much easier and more efficient.

John Thompson, Men's Health, 21 Nov. 2022 If little ones spill juice on the cover, simply toss it in the washer for an easy clean.

Casey Clark, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Nov. 2022 Keeping your phone clean isn’t hard with the right supplies and a little bit of elbow grease.

Kim Komando, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2022 Keeping your dash clean can prevent the spread of illnesses to keep you and your passengers safe and healthy.

Hearst Autos Research, Car and Driver, 24 June 2022 All the accessories are dishwasher-safe for easy clean-up.

Laura Denby, Peoplemag, 4 Nov. 2022 This blanket did well during our spot treatment test, and the top of the blanket almost seemed to repel the liquid instead of absorbing it, which makes for easy clean-up.

Erica Reagle, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Oct. 2022 This one's enameled for easy clean-up and has handles for easy transferring in and out of the oven.

Becca Miller, Good Housekeeping, 20 Oct. 2022 All 26 cases had wound infectious with exposure to Hurricane Ian flood waters that occurred from the storm-surge entering their homes or during post-storm clean-up.

Carma Hassan, CNN, 18 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clean.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English clene, going back to Old English clǣne "free from impurities or dirt, unblemished," going back to West Germanic *klainja- (whence also Old Saxon klēni "slender, perceptive," Middle Dutch cleine, clēne "of superior quality, elegant, slender, small," Old High German kleini, chleine "fine, delicate, clever"), of uncertain origin

Note: On the grounds that Low German klīn and Swiss German khlii, with an ablaut grade *klīn-, require a verbal origin, a base *klein-/*klain-/klin- has been suggested, whence Old Norse klína "to smear, butter (bread)," Old High German giklenan "to stroke, smear," from Indo-European *glei̯H- "smear, make stick" (whence, also with a nasal present formation, Old Irish glenaid "(it) adheres, cleaves," Welsh glynu "to stick, adhere"; cf. clay). This derivation would imply for the Germanic adjective an original meaning "smeared on well, carefully applied," hence "well crafted, of superior quality" > "free of impurities, fine, delicate" > "small" (see F. Heidermanns, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektiven, Berlin, 1993). The earlier proposal of a connection with Indo-European *gel- "bright, shining," is improbable, as none of the descendants of Germanic *klainja- have this meaning.