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Clean

//kliːn// adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled.

    "Are these dishes clean? Your room is finally clean! For a baby, happiness is a full bottle and a clean diaper."

  2. 2
    Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled.; Having relatively few impurities.

    "clean steel"

  3. 3
    Free of contamination, (unwanted) germs, infection, or disease.

    "Insert a clean swab into your nose."

  4. 4
    Free of contamination, (unwanted) germs, infection, or disease.; Devoid of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

    "I want to make sure my fiancé is clean before we are married."

  5. 5
    Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.; Of a victory or performance: without any blemishes such as submission holds, disqualification, interference, etc. slang

    "Our team won, but it wasn't clean."

Show 17 more definitions
  1. 6
    Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.; Ascended without falling.
  2. 7
    Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.; Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects.

    "clean land"

  3. 8
    Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.; In an unmarked condition; blank.

    "Put a clean sheet of paper into the printer."

  4. 9
    Free of immorality or criminality.; Pure, especially morally or religiously.

    "Our kids can watch this movie because it is clean."

  5. 10
    Free of immorality or criminality.; Not using drugs or alcohol.

    "go clean"

  6. 11
    Free of immorality or criminality.; Free from (or showing no signs of) corrupt, unlawful, and/or sinister conduct or connections (and (of criminal, driving, etc. records) therefore without restrictions or penalties).

    "It was my dream to be a Soviet spy. The vetting process started, and I was “clean”: no Jews in either my background or my wife's, no relatives abroad, already a member of the Soviet Communist Party, high marks on exams, three foreign languages, no dissident inclinations[…]"

  7. 12
    Free of immorality or criminality.; Not in possession of weapons or contraband such as drugs. informal

    "I'm clean, officer. You can go ahead and search me if you want."

  8. 13
    Free of immorality or criminality.; Devoid of profanity. informal
  9. 14
    Free of infiltration by covert listening or recording devices (bugs), enemy spies, etc.

    "We are currently clean on OPSEC."

  10. 15
    Empty.

    "The cargo hold is clean."

  11. 16
    Smooth, exact, and performed well.

    "I'll need a sharper knife to make clean cuts."

  12. 17
    That does not damage the environment (as much as some alternative).

    "clean energy"

  13. 18
    Allowing an uninterrupted flow over surfaces, without protrusions such as racks or landing gear.
  14. 19
    Having the undercarriage and flaps in the up position.
  15. 20
    Well-proportioned; shapely.

    "clean limbs"

  16. 21
    Cool or neat. informal

    "Wow, dude, those are some clean shoes ya got there!"

  17. 22
    Utter, complete, total; pure; free from restraint.

    "a clean sweep"

Adjective
  1. 1
    free of drugs wordnet
  2. 2
    free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed wordnet
  3. 3
    not carrying concealed weapons wordnet
  4. 4
    free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits wordnet
  5. 5
    (of behavior or especially language) free from objectionable elements; fit for all observers wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    not spreading pollution or contamination; especially radioactive contamination wordnet
  2. 7
    ritually clean or pure wordnet
  3. 8
    thorough and without qualification wordnet
  4. 9
    without difficulties or problems wordnet
  5. 10
    exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play wordnet
  6. 11
    (of a surface) not written or printed on wordnet
  7. 12
    (of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections wordnet
  8. 13
    morally pure wordnet
  9. 14
    (of a record) having no marks of discredit or offense wordnet
  10. 15
    free from impurities wordnet
  11. 16
    (of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims wordnet
  12. 17
    free of restrictions or qualifications wordnet
  13. 18
    free from sepsis or infection wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Fully and completely.

    "He was stabbed clean through."

Adverb
  1. 1
    completely; used as intensifiers wordnet
  2. 2
    in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
Noun
  1. 1
    Removal of dirt.

    "This place needs a clean."

  2. 2
    a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then jerked overhead wordnet
  3. 3
    The first part of the event clean and jerk in which the weight is brought from the ground to the shoulders.
  4. 4
    Clear vocals, contrasted with death growls and screams. in-plural

    "When people complained the songs were too hard, Kyle's clean vocals could bail out the band. Adding cleans would set off a chain reaction though - Kyle's crisp, clear presence could be seen as "betraying" the raw assault that Mike inflicts on the fans with his screams and growls."

Verb
  1. 1
    To remove dirt from a place or object. transitive

    "Can you clean the windows today?"

  2. 2
    clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing wordnet
  3. 3
    To tidy up, make a place neat. transitive

    "Clean your room right now!"

  4. 4
    remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits wordnet
  5. 5
    To remove equipment from a climbing route after it was previously lead climbed. transitive
Show 15 more definitions
  1. 6
    remove shells or husks from wordnet
  2. 7
    To make things clean in general. intransitive

    "She just likes to clean. That’s why I married her."

  3. 8
    remove unwanted substances from wordnet
  4. 9
    To remove unnecessary files, etc. from (a directory, etc.). transitive
  5. 10
    remove while making clean wordnet
  6. 11
    To brush the ice lightly in front of a moving rock to remove any debris and ensure a correct line; less vigorous than a sweep. intransitive
  7. 12
    make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from wordnet
  8. 13
    To purge a raw of any blemishes caused by the scanning process such as brown tinting and poor color contrast. slang
  9. 14
    clean and tidy up the house wordnet
  10. 15
    Synonym of clean up.
  11. 16
    remove all contents or possession from, or empty completely wordnet
  12. 17
    To remove guts and/or scales of a butchered animal. transitive

    "The fishmonger cleaned the mackerel."

  13. 18
    deprive wholly of money in a gambling game, robbery, etc. wordnet
  14. 19
    To beat, to thrash; to defeat. slang
  15. 20
    be cleanable wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), West Frisian klien (“small”), klean (“clean”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), West Frisian klien (“small”), klean (“clean”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

Etymology 3

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), West Frisian klien (“small”), klean (“clean”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

Etymology 4

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), West Frisian klien (“small”), klean (“clean”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

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