clean

[kleen] /klin/
adjective, cleaner, cleanest.
1.
free from dirt; unsoiled; unstained:
She bathed and put on a clean dress.
2.
free from foreign or extraneous matter:
clean sand.
3.
free from pollution; unadulterated; pure:
clean air; clean water.
4.
habitually free of dirt:
Cats are considered clean animals.
5.
characterized by a fresh, wholesome quality:
the clean smell of pine.
6.
free from all writing or marking:
a clean sheet of paper.
7.
having few or no corrections; easily readable:
The publisher demanded clean proofs from the printer.
8.
free from roughness or irregularity:
He made a clean cut with a razor.
9.
not ornate; gracefully spare; forceful and simple; trim; streamlined:
a clean literary style; the clean lines of a ship.
10.
complete; unqualified:
a clean break with tradition.
11.
morally pure; innocent; upright; honorable:
to lead a clean life.
12.
showing good sportsmanship; fair:
a clean fighter.
13.
inoffensive in language or content; without obscenity.
14.
(of a document, record, etc.) bearing no marks of discreditable or unlawful conduct; listing no offenses:
a clean driver's license.
15.
Slang.
  1. innocent of any crime.
  2. not having a criminal record.
  3. carrying or containing no evidence of unlawful activity or intent, as controlled substances, unlicensed weapons, or contraband:
    The agents searched the car for drugs, but it was clean.
  4. not using narcotics.
16.
(of a nuclear weapon) producing little or no radioactive fallout.
17.
not radioactive.
18.
(of a document or financial instrument) free from qualifications or restrictions:
a clean bill of lading.
19.
free from defects or flaws:
a clean diamond.
20.
free from encumbrances or obstructions.
21.
neatly or evenly made or proportioned; shapely; trim:
a clean profile.
22.
made without any unanticipated difficulty or interference:
The bank robbers made a clean getaway.
23.
Chiefly Biblical. having no physical or moral blemish or carrying no taboo so as to make impure according to the laws, especially the dietary or ceremonial laws:
a clean animal; clean persons.
24.
dexterously performed; adroit:
a clean serve in tennis.
25.
(of a jump over an obstacle) made without touching the obstacle.
26.
Slang. having no direct associations, business interests, etc., that could prejudice one's official acts or decisions:
The new governor is clean because he's sold his construction business and doesn't owe political favors to anyone.
27.
Slang. without money or funds.
28.
(of wine) having a taste that is unusually refreshing and smooth.
29.
Nautical. (of an anchorage, harbor, etc.) free of obstructions or hazards (opposed to foul).
30.
(of the legs of a horse) free from injury or blemish, as capped hocks, splints, or scars.
31.
Foreign Exchange. (of currency floats) not influenced by exchange-rate manipulation (opposed to dirty).
adverb, cleaner, cleanest.
32.
in a clean manner; cleanly:
Nobody wants to box with him because he doesn't fight clean.
33.
so as to be clean:
This shirt will never wash clean.
34.
Informal. wholly; completely; quite:
The sharp carving knife sliced clean through the roast. In a year, he had gone clean through his inheritance.
verb (used with object)
35.
to make clean:
Clean those dirty shoes.
36.
to remove or consume the contents of; empty; clear:
She sat down to dinner ravenous and within five minutes had cleaned her plate.
37.
to dry-clean.
38.
to remove the entrails and other inedible parts from (poultry, fish, etc.); dress.
39.
Slang. to take away or win all or almost all the money or possessions of (often followed by out):
The cards were marked and I got cleaned.
40.
Metallurgy. to remove the seams from (a casting) by filing or grinding.
41.
Philately. to delete intentionally the cancellation from (a postage or revenue stamp).
verb (used without object)
42.
to perform or undergo a process of cleaning:
This kind of fabric cleans easily. Detergents clean better than most soaps.
43.
to get rid of dirt, soil, etc. (often followed by up):
to spend the morning cleaning.
Verb phrases
44.
clean out,
  1. to empty in order to straighten or clean.
  2. to use up; exhaust:
    He had cleaned out his savings.
  3. Informal. to drive out by force.
  4. to empty or rid (a place) of occupants, contents, etc.:
    Eager customers cleaned out the store on the first day of the sale. The thief cleaned out the safe.
  5. Slang. to cause to lose all or almost all one's money or possessions.
45.
clean up,
  1. to wash or tidy up.
  2. to rid of undesirable persons or features:
    They cleaned up the local bars.
  3. to put an end to; finish:
    to clean up yesterday's chores.
  4. Informal. to make a large profit:
    They cleaned up in the stock market.
Idioms
46.
clean full, Nautical.
  1. (of a sail or sails) filled with wind; rap full.
  2. (of a sailing vessel) with all sails full of wind; rap full.
47.
clean house, to wipe out corruption, inefficiency, etc., as in an organization:
It's time for the city government to clean house.
48.
clean up one's act. act (def 27).
49.
come clean, Slang. to tell the truth, especially to admit one's guilt.
Origin
before 900; Middle English clene, Old English clǣne pure, clear, cognate with Old High German kleini (German klein small)
Related forms
cleanness, noun
half-cleaned, adjective
overclean, adjective
overcleanly, adverb
overcleanness, noun
preclean, verb (used with object)
reclean, verb (used with object)
superclean, adjective
uncleaned, adjective
Can be confused
clean, cleanse (see synonym study at the current entry)
cleanliness, cleanness.
Synonyms
1. neat, immaculate. Clean, clear, pure refer to freedom from soiling, flaw, stain, or mixture. Clean refers especially to freedom from soiling: a clean shirt. Clear refers particularly to freedom from flaw or blemish: a clear pane of glass. Pure refers especially to freedom from mixture or stain: a pure metal; not diluted but pure and full strength. 7. legible. 11. unsullied, chaste, virtuous. 19. unblemished, flawless. 34. entirely, thoroughly. 35. scour, scrub, sweep, brush, wipe, mop, dust, wash, rinse, lave, deterge, purify, clear; decontaminate. Clean, cleanse refer to removing dirt or impurities. To clean is the general word with no implication of method or means: to clean windows, a kitchen, streets. Cleanse is especially used of thorough cleaning by chemical or other technical process; figuratively it applies to moral or spiritual purification: to cleanse parts of machinery; to cleanse one's soul of guilt.
Antonyms
1. dirty. 17. contaminated, radioactive. 35. soil.
Examples from the web for clean up
  • It is faster and more precise and easier to clean up using a knife.
  • Or they can clamp down, clean up, and face the double short-term risk of a stalled economy and a wrathful proletariat.
  • But persuading other countries to clean up after a war they had opposed would be quite a trick.
  • Anchoring your speakers will clean up that image considerably.
  • Not only would the move secure the plant's viability, but it would also help clean up the environmental reputation of coal power.
  • Someday they could be used to produce drugs or clean up pollution.
  • We simply cannot clean up the oceans, by what we're messing them up so easily.
  • The fix was an operation to clear out the disintegration, clean up the spurs and fuse the vertebrae.
  • It took a year to clean up the data and still there were imperfections.
  • Og say, clean up campsite, then no need to change lifestyle.
British Dictionary definitions for clean up

clean up

verb (adverb)
1.
to rid (something) of dirt, filth, or other impurities
2.
to make (someone or something) orderly or presentable
3.
(transitive) to rid (a place) of undesirable people or conditions: the campaign against vice had cleaned up the city
4.
(intransitive) (informal) to make a great profit
noun
5.
  1. the process of cleaning up or eliminating something
  2. (as modifier): a cleanup campaign
6.
(informal, mainly US) a great profit

clean

/kliːn/
adjective
1.
without dirt or other impurities; unsoiled
2.
without anything in it or on it: a clean page
3.
recently washed; fresh
4.
without extraneous or foreign materials
5.
without defect, difficulties, or problems: a clean test flight
6.
  1. (of a nuclear weapon) producing little or no radioactive fallout or contamination
  2. uncontaminated Compare dirty (sense 11)
7.
(of a wound, etc) having no pus or other sign of infection
8.
pure; morally sound
9.
without objectionable language or obscenity: a clean joke
10.
(of printer's proofs, etc) relatively free from errors; easily readable: clean copy
11.
thorough or complete: a clean break
12.
dexterous or adroit: a clean throw
13.
(sport) played fairly and without fouls
14.
simple in design: a ship's clean lines
15.
(aeronautics) causing little turbulence; streamlined
16.
(of an aircraft) having no projections, such as rockets, flaps, etc, into the airstream
17.
honourable or respectable
18.
habitually neat
19.
(esp of a driving licence) showing or having no record of offences
20.
(slang)
  1. innocent; not guilty
  2. not carrying illegal drugs, weapons, etc
21.
(nautical, of a vessel)
  1. having its bottom clean
  2. having a satisfactory bill of health
22.
(Old Testament)
  1. (of persons) free from ceremonial defilement
  2. (of animals, birds, and fish) lawful to eat
23.
(New Testament) morally and spiritually pure
24.
clean sweep, See sweep (sense 33)
verb
25.
to make or become free of dirt, filth, etc: the stove cleans easily
26.
(transitive) to remove in making clean: to clean marks off the wall
27.
(transitive) to prepare (fish, poultry, etc) for cooking: to clean a chicken
adverb
28.
in a clean way; cleanly
29.
(not standard) (intensifier): clean forgotten, clean dead
30.
(cricket) clean bowled, bowled by a ball that breaks the wicket without hitting the batsman or his bat
31.
(informal) come clean, to make a revelation or confession
noun
32.
the act or an instance of cleaning: he gave his shoes a clean
See also clean out, clean up
Derived Forms
cleanable, adjective
cleanness, noun
Word Origin
Old English clǣne; related to Old Frisian klēne small, neat, Old High German kleini
Word Origin and History for clean up

clean

adj.

Old English clæne "free from dirt or filth; pure, chaste, innocent; open, in the open," of beasts, "ritually safe to eat," from West Germanic *klainoz "clear, pure" (cf. Old Saxon kleni "dainty, delicate," Old Frisian klene "small," Old High German kleini "delicate, fine, small," German klein "small;" English preserves the original Germanic sense), from PIE root *gel- "bright, gleaming" (cf. Greek glene "eyeball," Old Irish gel "bright").

"Largely replaced by clear, pure in the higher senses" [Weekley], but as a verb (mid-15c.) it has largely usurped what once belonged to cleanse. Meaning "whole, entire" is from c.1300 (clean sweep in the figurative sense is from 1821). Sense of "innocent" is from c.1300; that of "not lewd" is from 1867; that of "not carrying anything forbidden" is from 1938; that of "free of drug addiction" is from 1950s. To come clean "confess" is from 1919, American English.

v.

mid-15c., "make clean," from clean (adj.). Related: Cleaned; cleaning. From clean out "clean by emptying" comes sense of "to leave bare" (1844); cleaned-out "left penniless by losses" is from 1812.

adv.

Old English clæne "dirtlessly," also "clearly, fully, entirely;" see clean (adj.). Cf. similar use of German rein "clean."

Slang definitions & phrases for clean up

clean up

verb phrase

To make a large profit; get an impressive return for one's money; make a killing: The West today knows many a ghost town where men of too much enterprise cleaned up and cleared out (1830s+)


clean

adjective
  1. Not carrying anything forbidden, esp a firearm: Cops gave him a body-shake and he came out clean (1926+)
  2. Innocent; unincriminated (1300+)
  3. Not producing radioactive contamination: a clean bomb (1950s+)
  4. Lacking money; broke, cleaned out (late 1900s+)
  5. Not lewd or obscene; morally unexceptionable: a couple of clean jokes/ a clean old man (1867+)
  6. Trim; neat; elegant: Mies' clean lines and crisp angles (1400+)
  7. Free of drug addiction (1950s+ Narcotics)
  8. Well-dressed; clad in the latest style: Danny, he was really clean. He had new clothes (1960s+ Black)
adverb

: I was crazy about Lester. He played so clean and beautiful

Related Terms

come clean, keep one's nose clean, squeaky-clean


Clean

Related Terms

mister clean


clean up in the Bible

The various forms of uncleanness according to the Mosaic law are enumerated in Lev. 11-15; Num. 19. The division of animals into clean and unclean was probably founded on the practice of sacrifice. It existed before the Flood (Gen. 7:2). The regulations regarding such animals are recorded in Lev. 11 and Deut. 14:1-21. The Hebrews were prohibited from using as food certain animal substances, such as (1) blood; (2) the fat covering the intestines, termed the caul; (3) the fat on the intestines, called the mesentery; (4) the fat of the kidneys; and (5) the fat tail of certain sheep (Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4-9; 9:19; 17:10; 19:26). The chief design of these regulations seems to have been to establish a system of regimen which would distinguish the Jews from all other nations. Regarding the design and the abolition of these regulations the reader will find all the details in Lev. 20:24-26; Acts 10:9-16; 11:1-10; Heb. 9:9-14.

Idioms and Phrases with clean up

clean up

.
Also, clean out. Make clean or orderly, as in She cleaned up the cellar after the flood, or Dad said he cleaned out the garage. [ First half of 1800s ]
.
Also, wash up. Wash or tidy oneself, as in Do I have time to clean up before dinner?
.
Settle or dispose of, as in He cleaned up all the bills that had arrived during his vacation.
.
Bring to a certain standard of order or morality, as in This script won't do; we'll have to clean up the language. Applied to personal behavior, it also is put as clean up one's act, as in He'll have to clean up his act and obey the rules. [ c. 1900 ]
.
Succeed, especially financially, as in We had fantastic luck at the races and really cleaned up. [ ; first half of 1800s ]
.
Also, clean up on. Defeat or vanquish, kill, as in We're cleaning up all the other teams, or With enough ammunition we could clean up on this pocket of snipers. [ ; mid-1800s ]

clean

also see: