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Webster 1913 Edition

Clean

Clean

(klēn)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Cleaner
(klēn′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Cleanest
.]
[OE.
clene
, AS.
clǣne
; akin to OHG.
chleini
pure, neat, graceful, small, G.
klein
small, and perh. to W.
glan
clean, pure, bright; all perh. from a primitive, meaning
bright
,
shining
. Cf.
Glair
.]
1.
Free from dirt or filth;
as,
clean
clothes
.
2.
Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects;
as,
clean
land;
clean
timber
.
3.
Free from awkwardness; not bungling; adroit; dexterous;
as, a
clean
trick; a
clean
leap over a fence
.
4.
Free from errors and vulgarisms;
as, a
clean
style
.
5.
Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.
When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make
clean
riddance of corners of thy field.
Lev. xxiii. 22.
6.
Free from moral defilement; sinless; pure.
Create in me a
clean
heart, O God.
Ps. li. 10
That I am whole, and
clean
, and meet for Heaven
Tennyson.
7.
(Script.)
Free from ceremonial defilement.
8.
Free from that which is corrupting to the morals; pure in tone; healthy.
“Lothair is clean.”
F. Harrison.
9.
Well-proportioned; shapely;
as,
clean limbs
.
A clean bill of health
,
a certificate from the proper authority that a ship is free from infection.
–
Clean breach
.
See under
Breach
,
Noun.
, 4.
–
To make a clean breast
.
See under
Breast
.
“Clean contrary.”
Milton.
All the people were passed
clean
over Jordan.
Josh. iii. 17.
2.
Without miscarriage; not bunglingly; dexterously.
[Obs.]
“Pope came off clean with Homer.”
Henley.

Clean

(klēn)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Cleaned
(klēnd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Cleaning
.]
[See
Clean
,
Adj.
, and cf.
Cleanse
.]
To render clean; to free from whatever is foul, offensive, or extraneous; to purify; to cleanse.
To clean out
,
to exhaust; to empty; to get away from (one) all his money.
[Colloq.]
De Quincey.

Webster 1828 Edition

Clean

CLEAN

,
Adj.
In a general sense, free from extraneous matter, or whatever is injurious or offensive; hence its signification depends on the nature and qualities of the substances to which it is applied.
1.
Free from dirt, or other foul matter; as clean water; a clean cup; a clean floor.
2.
Free from weeds or stones; as clean land; a clean garden or field.
3.
Free from knots or branches; as clean timber. In America, clear is generally used.
4.
Free from moral impurity; innocent.
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Job 14. Acts 18.
5.
Free from ceremonial defilement. Lev. 10; Numb. 19.
6.
Free from guilt; sanctified; holy. John 13. Ps 51.
7.
That might be eaten by the Hebrews. Gen. 7; Gen. 8.
8.
That might be used. Luke 11.
9.
Free from a foul disease; cured of leprosy. 2 Kings 5. Math. 8.
10.
Dextrous; adroit; not bungling; free from awkwardness; as a clean feat; a clean boxer.
11.
Free from infection; as a clean ship. A clean bill of health is a certificate that a ship is clean, or free from infection.

CLEAN

, adv.
1.
Quite; perfectly; wholly; entirely; fully; indicating separation or complete removal of every part. The people passed clean over Jordan. Josh. 3. Is his mercy clean gone forever? Ps. 77. This use of clean is not now elegant, and not used except in vulgar language.
2.
Without miscarriage; dextrously.
Pope came off clean with Homer.

CLEAN

,
Verb.
T.
To remove all foreign matter from; to separate from any thing whatever is extraneous to it, or whatever is foul, noxious, or offensive, as dirt or filth from the hands, body or clothes, foul matter from a vessel, weeds, shrubs and stones from a meadow; to purify. Thus, a house is cleaned by sweeping and washing; a field is cleaned by plowing and hoeing.

Definition 2024

clean

clean

English

Adjective

clean ‎(comparative cleaner, superlative cleanest)

  1. (heading, physical) Free of dirt or impurities or protruberances.
    1. Not dirty.
      Are these dishes clean?  Your room is finally clean!‎
      • 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter II:
        Then his sallow face brightened, for the hall had been carefully furnished, and was very clean. ¶ There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
    2. In an unmarked condition.
      Put a clean sheet of paper into the printer.‎
    3. (aerodynamics) Allowing an uninterrupted flow over surfaces, without protrusions such as racks or landing gear.
    4. Empty.
      The cargo hold is clean.  Mister, I want to see a clean dinner plate or there'll be no dessert for you.‎
    5. (of metal) Having relatively few impurities.
      clean steel‎
  2. (heading, behavioural) Free of immorality or criminality.
    1. Pure, especially morally or religiously.
      Our kids can watch this movie because it is clean.‎
      • Bible, Psalms li.10:
        Create in me a clean heart, O God.
      • Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
        That I am whole, and clean, and meet for Heaven.
    2. Not having used drugs or alcohol.
      I've been clean this time for eight months.‎
    3. (of criminal, driving, etc. records) Without restrictions or penalties, or someone having such a record.
      Unlike you, I’ve never caused any accidents — my record is still clean!‎
    4. (informal) Not in possession of weapons or contraband such as drugs.
      I’m clean, officer. You can go ahead and search me if you want.‎
    5. (informal) Devoid of profanity.
  3. Smooth, exact, and performed well.
    I’ll need a sharper knife to make clean cuts.  a clean leap over a fence‎
  4. (obsolete) Total; utter.
    • James Howell
      Moreover, I find there are some Words now in French which are turned to a Countersense […] Cocu is taken for one whose Wife is light, and hath made him a passive Cuckold; whereas clean contrary, Cocu, which is the Cuckow, doth use to lay her Eggs in another Bird's Nest.
  5. (informal) Cool or neat.
    Wow, Dude, those are some clean shoes ya got there!‎
  6. (health) Being free of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
    I want to make sure my fiancé is clean before we are married.‎
  7. That does not damage the environment.
    clean energy;  clean coal‎
  8. Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects.
    clean land;  clean timber‎
  9. Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.
    • Bible, Leviticus xxiii.22:
      When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of corners of thy field.
  10. Well-proportioned; shapely.
    clean limbs‎
  11. (climbing, of a route) Ascended without falling.

Synonyms

  • (not dirty): Wikisaurus:clean

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

clean ‎(plural cleans)

  1. Removal of dirt.
    This place needs a clean.
  2. (weightlifting) The first part of the event clean and jerk in which the weight is brought from the ground to the shoulders.

Translations

Verb

clean ‎(third-person singular simple present cleans, present participle cleaning, simple past and past participle cleaned)

  1. (transitive) To remove dirt from a place or object.
    Can you clean the windows today?
  2. (transitive) To tidy up, make a place neat.
    Clean your room right now!
  3. (transitive, climbing) To remove equipment from a climbing route after it was previously lead climbed.
  4. (intransitive) To make things clean in general.
    She just likes to clean. That’s why I married her.
  5. (transitive, computing) To remove unnecessary files, etc. from (a directory, etc.).
  6. (intransitive, curling) 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.
  7. (manga fandom slang) To purge a raw of any blemishes caused by the scanning process such as brown tinting and poor color contrast.
  8. To remove guts and/or scales of a butchered animal.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:make clean

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

clean ‎(comparative cleaner, superlative cleanest)

  1. Fully and completely.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess:
      The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when modish taste was just due to go clean out of fashion for the best part of the next hundred years.
    He was stabbed clean through.‎
    You must be clean mad.‎

Translations

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

Borrowing from English clean.

Adjective

clean ‎(neuter clean, e-form clean)

  1. drugfree, not having used recreational drugs

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish clíabán.

Noun

clean m ‎(genitive singular clean, plural cleanyn)

  1. cradle (oscillating bed for a baby)
  2. cot
  3. cage (of birds)
  4. pannier

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
clean chlean glean
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Etymology

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne ‎(“clean, pure, chaste, innocent, unencumbered, unfettered, hallowed, clear, open, honorable, true, acute, sagacious, intellectual”), from Proto-Germanic *klainiz ‎(“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), from Proto-Indo-European *g(e)lēy- ‎(“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‎(“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean ‎(“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane ‎(“clean”), North Frisian klien ‎(“small”), Dutch klein ‎(“small”), Low German kleen ‎(“small”), German klein ‎(“small”), Swedish klen ‎(“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn ‎(“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”). Displaced Old English sȳfre ‎(“clean, sober”), hlūtor ‎(“pure, clear, clean, bright”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: klēn, IPA(key): /kliːn/
  • Rhymes: -iːn

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