What does "clean" mean?
Removal of dirt.
Clean
/kliːn/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Removal of dirt.
- Grammar: clean is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: absolute, absolutely, acknowledge, adept.
- Useful contrasts: dirty, discolored, diseased.
- Usage evidence: You had better make a clean breast of everything.
How to use "clean"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clean" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "clean" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "clean" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clean" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "clean" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "absolute" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "clean", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Removal of dirt.
"This place needs a clean."
- 2 a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then jerked overhead wordnet
- 3 The first part of the event clean and jerk in which the weight is brought from the ground to the shoulders.
- 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 To remove dirt from a place or object. transitive
"Can you clean the windows today?"
- 2 clean one's body or parts thereof, as by washing wordnet
- 3 To tidy up, make a place neat. transitive
"Clean your room right now!"
- 4 remove unwanted substances from, such as feathers or pits wordnet
- 5 To remove equipment from a climbing route after it was previously lead climbed. transitive
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 remove shells or husks from wordnet
- 7 To make things clean in general. intransitive
"She just likes to clean. That’s why I married her."
- 8 remove unwanted substances from wordnet
- 9 To remove unnecessary files, etc. from (a directory, etc.). transitive
- 10 remove while making clean wordnet
- 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
- 12 make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from wordnet
- 13 To purge a raw of any blemishes caused by the scanning process such as brown tinting and poor color contrast. slang
- 14 clean and tidy up the house wordnet
- 15 Synonym of clean up.
- 16 remove all contents or possession from, or empty completely wordnet
- 17 To remove guts and/or scales of a butchered animal. transitive
"The fishmonger cleaned the mackerel."
- 18 deprive wholly of money in a gambling game, robbery, etc. wordnet
- 19 To beat, to thrash; to defeat. slang
- 20 be cleanable wordnet
Adjective
- 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 Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled.; Having relatively few impurities.
"clean steel"
- 3 Free of contamination, (unwanted) germs, infection, or disease.
"Insert a clean swab into your nose."
- 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 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
- 6 Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.; Ascended without falling.
- 7 Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.; Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects.
"clean land"
- 8 Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.; In an unmarked condition; blank.
"Put a clean sheet of paper into the printer."
- 9 Free of immorality or criminality.; Pure, especially morally or religiously.
"Our kids can watch this movie because it is clean."
- 10 Free of immorality or criminality.; Not using drugs or alcohol.
"go clean"
- 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[…]"
- 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."
- 13 Free of immorality or criminality.; Devoid of profanity. informal
- 14 Free of infiltration by covert listening or recording devices (bugs), enemy spies, etc.
"We are currently clean on OPSEC."
- 15 Empty.
"The cargo hold is clean."
- 16 Smooth, exact, and performed well.
"I'll need a sharper knife to make clean cuts."
- 17 That does not damage the environment (as much as some alternative).
"clean energy"
- 18 Allowing an uninterrupted flow over surfaces, without protrusions such as racks or landing gear.
- 19 Having the undercarriage and flaps in the up position.
- 20 Well-proportioned; shapely.
"clean limbs"
- 21 Cool or neat. informal
"Wow, dude, those are some clean shoes ya got there!"
- 22 Utter, complete, total; pure; free from restraint.
"a clean sweep"
Adjective
- 1 free of drugs wordnet
- 2 free from clumsiness; precisely or deftly executed wordnet
- 3 not carrying concealed weapons wordnet
- 4 free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits wordnet
- 5 (of behavior or especially language) free from objectionable elements; fit for all observers wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 not spreading pollution or contamination; especially radioactive contamination wordnet
- 7 ritually clean or pure wordnet
- 8 thorough and without qualification wordnet
- 9 without difficulties or problems wordnet
- 10 exhibiting or calling for sportsmanship or fair play wordnet
- 11 (of a surface) not written or printed on wordnet
- 12 (of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections wordnet
- 13 morally pure wordnet
- 14 (of a record) having no marks of discredit or offense wordnet
- 15 free from impurities wordnet
- 16 (of sound or color) free from anything that dulls or dims wordnet
- 17 free of restrictions or qualifications wordnet
- 18 free from sepsis or infection wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Fully and completely.
"He was stabbed clean through."
Adverb
- 1 completely; used as intensifiers wordnet
- 2 in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"You had better make a clean breast of everything."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clean"?
Common synonyms include: absolute, absolutely, acknowledge, adept, admit, adroit.
How do you use "clean" in a sentence?
You had better make a clean breast of everything.
How do you pronounce "clean"?
Pronounced /kliːn/.
Etymology
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”).