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
Cover with a clean kitchen towel, sealing with a rubber band or string. Minerva Orduño Rincón, The Arizona Republic, 8 Sep. 2022 That’s the vision pitched by clean energy advocates, anyway. Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2022 In 2012, the project was approved by the U.N. to issue credits based on an assumption the clean electricity generated from wind would annually displace an average of 129,000 tons of CO2 by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Shane Shifflett, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022 How to Use It: Spray the treatment onto clean, damp hair until saturated. Kiana Murden, Vogue, 8 Sep. 2022 Maintaining a clean drain will also prevent your bathroom from unwanted odors. Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Sep. 2022 Alcohol by volume: 5 percent Pilsners are tough to make – brewers can’t take shortcuts and the flavors have to be bright and clean.San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2022 The outside zone, in particular, is geared toward stretching a defense horizontally in order to give a running back a clean, one-cut read either off the tight end or vertically up the field. Parker Gabriel, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2022 McCarthy seemed to agree with McNamara’s suggestion that head coach Jim Harbaugh would prefer a clean choice for the starting role rather than progressing with another rotation. Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 7 Sep. 2022
Adverb
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 The steel was produced using HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology), which uses electricity from renewable sources to create the clean-burning gas. David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2021
Verb
With the hinge pin removed, take some time to inspect it and clean it with steel wool to remove any dust, dirt, grime, or other debris. Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Aug. 2022 To get a sense of what makes a good shower curtain, including the best materials to look for and how to clean them, our Textiles and Cleaning Lab pros weighed in using years of expertise in their respective fields. Abigail Bailey, Good Housekeeping, 22 Aug. 2022 After filling up the water reservoir and plugging in the machine, the LED screen on the top will prompt you to prime the lines and clean them. Chris Hachey, BGR, 5 Aug. 2022 Its narrator is an unnamed, childlike woman, who one day awakes dressed as a schoolgirl, unable to eat, speak, or clean herself without aid. Hannah Williams, The New Yorker, 28 July 2022 Even better still, when you’re done just add a little soap and hot water and the powerful machine will clean itself. Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 12 July 2022 Watt had to send a trucker to pick the load back up, hire a waste company to clean it out and wait for a permit to dump the yeast extract in a New Jersey landfill. John Francis Peters, ProPublica, 16 June 2022 Place it in either sun or shade, clean it often and change the water daily or at least every other day.oregonlive, 3 June 2022 Another important ass-pect of finding a proper anal stimulation device is to find a plug that is made of a material that's easy to clean, according to Dr. Grover. Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 28 Aug. 2022
Noun
The felt filters are reusable, which is cost effective and eco-friendly; the paper filters, which cost around $1 each, provide easy clean-up. Nicole Papantoniou, Good Housekeeping, 6 Sep. 2022 Ian Somerhalder gets to work at a beach clean-up with the Shiseido Blue Project and WSL PURE during the 2022 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California, on Aug. 3. People Staff, Peoplemag, 11 Aug. 2022 The two-part event begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with a community-wide clean-up. Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2022 Ian Somerhalder gets to work at a beach clean-up with the Shiseido Blue Project and WSL PURE during the 2022 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California, on Aug. 3. People Staff, Peoplemag, 11 Aug. 2022 Ian Somerhalder gets to work at a beach clean-up with the Shiseido Blue Project and WSL PURE during the 2022 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California, on Aug. 3. People Staff, Peoplemag, 11 Aug. 2022 That could be anything from a piece of furniture like a pony bench to tile flooring with drainage for easy clean-up. Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 10 Aug. 2022 Ian Somerhalder gets to work at a beach clean-up with the Shiseido Blue Project and WSL PURE during the 2022 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California, on Aug. 3. People Staff, Peoplemag, 6 Aug. 2022 Once shelter and housing are made available, the team will conduct anticamping enforcement and camp clean-up. Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2022 See More
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.
Adverb
Middle English clene, going back to Old English clǣne, derivative of clǣneclean entry 1
Verb
Middle English clenen "to clear of weeds," derivative of cleneclean entry 1