🧼 To remove dirt 🧼 Not dirty ✅ No problems 📦 To empty 🚭 No drugs 😇 Not offensive 💸 To take all money ✂️ Complete change 🎯 Perfect action 🛂 No weapons 🕊️ Ritually pure 🏋️ Weightlifting move 🧹 Completely

clean

∞ 1.0

Free from dirt or harmful things

adjective
/klin/

: limpio

The air in the mountain village is clean and fresh, free from pollution.
clean water
clean air
clean energy

I love the smell of her being clean and fresh.

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Examples

These low lift tips for keeping a clean enough home will help.

The Minimalists
So just my house being clean makes me really happy.
Make sure the surface is nice and clean like that.
Wow it's so white and clean I love it.
Now my skin is clean and it is dry.
Like the place is so clean, it's so safe.
It's just really, really clean and great.
But this is what it looks like on clean, fresh skin.
I have discovered I like my home to be clean and tidy, and everything put in its place.

Academic text (2011)
In most megacities of the developing world, clean water is both scarce and expensive to produce.

Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

pure

vsclean

390 1.0

Has nothing mixed with it

focuses on lacking dirt, impurities, or harmful contamination rather than composition

fresh

vsclean

314 1.0

Clean air or water that has no harmful things

applies more widely to objects, surfaces, and substances lacking dirt

pristine

vsclean

63 5.1

Very clean and fresh, like new

refers to ordinary absence of dirt without implying unused perfection

sterile

vsclean

Specialized

37 4.4

Completely free from germs

means lacking dirt or impurities without requiring full laboratory sterilization

immaculate

vsclean

36 5.9

Completely clean and neat with no marks or stains

focuses on absence of dirt or contamination rather than flawless perfection

sanitary

vsclean

24 2.8

Clean and free from dirt or germs that can cause disease

is the general state of lacking dirt, impurities, or contamination

unsullied

vsclean

5 7.0

Completely clean and not spoiled or stained

means being without dirt, impurities, or harmful substances in material terms

antiseptic

vsclean

3 7.2

Very clean in style and free from anything offensive or wrong

is the literal state of lacking dirt, germs, or harmful substances

uncontaminated

vsclean

3 5.2

Free from harmful or unwanted things

refers to general absence of dirt, impurities, or contamination

unpolluted

vsclean

3 3.9

Clean and not made dirty by harmful substances

covers absence of dirt and impurities more broadly than pollution focus

sanitized

vsclean

1 3.9

Made clean so it is free from germs

describes the simple condition of lacking dirt or contamination

immaculately clean

vsclean

1 4.1

Very clean and tidy with no dirt or marks

is the general lack of dirt, impurities, or harmful substances

nonpolluted

vsclean

3.9

Clean and free from harmful chemicals or dirt

is the broad, everyday idea of lacking dirt or contamination

germfree

vsclean

4.4

Free of tiny living things that cause disease

emphasizes ordinary absence of dirt or impurities rather than only microbes

washed

vsclean

1.0

Made clean with water or soap

is the broader idea of being without dirt, impurities, or contamination

unstained

vsclean

3.2

Clean and without marks or dirt

is about overall absence of dirt, impurities, or contaminants

Antonyms

dirty

525 1.0

Not clean or covered with dirt

contaminated

4.7

Something that becomes unsafe because it touches something dirty or harmful

Idioms

clean bill of health

18 3.3

An official statement that a person or thing is healthy and has no serious problems

to keep one's nose clean

Informal

11 6.8

To avoid trouble and not attract bad attention

to wipe the slate clean

Informal

8 5.0

To start fresh by forgetting past mistakes and problems

to make a clean breast of

1 7.5

To tell the whole truth about something wrong you did

to clean someone's clock

Informal

9.3

Beat someone badly in a game or fight

to show a clean pair of heels

8.3

Run away quickly to avoid danger or trouble

to start with a clean sheet

Informal

4.4

Do something new and not worry about past mistakes

Compounds

clean water

42 1.0

Water that is safe to drink and use

clean slate

Informal

21 4.1

A chance to start again without being blamed for past mistakes

clean-cut

13 3.8

Having a neat, smart look and tidy clothes

clean break

Informal

12 3.9

A complete ending of a relationship or old life to start fresh

clean-shaven

12 3.5

A person with no hair on the face, like on the chin and cheeks

clean sweep

Informal

5 3.6

A full success when someone wins everything or makes a complete change

clean room

Specialized

5 6.4

A room where people keep the air and surfaces very clean for making microchips and other sensitive equipment

clean-living

3 3.7

Living in a morally careful way and avoiding drinking, smoking, and drugs

clean-burning

Specialized

1 5.3

Produces little smoke or ash when burned

clean and jerk

Specialized

1 4.1

A weightlifting move where you lift a heavy bar to your shoulders then push it above your head

clean code

Specialized

1 4.0

Clear, well organized computer instructions that are easy to read and change

immaculately clean

1 4.1

Very clean and tidy with no dirt or marks

clean bomb

Archaic

6.1

A nuclear bomb that produces very little radioactive fallout

clean-timbered architecture

Specialized

8.0

A style of building with simple straight lines and visible wood parts

clean-up event

3.4

An organized activity where people pick up litter in a public place

clean-up event

Specialized

3.7

A scheduled task that deletes temporary files to free disk space

clean-limbed

7.4

Having well-shaped arms and legs that look strong and graceful

code clean

Specialized

5.8

Source code written clearly so other programmers can read and change it

laminar flow clean room

Specialized

7.2

A clean room where air moves in smooth parallel layers to keep tiny particles away during work like making microchips

How Clean

pristine

63 5.1

spotless

41 2.5

clean

∞ 1.0

dirty

525 1.0

filthy

183 1.5

Surface Forms

clean positive

cleaner comparative

cleanest superlative

Etymology

Clean comes from the old English word clæne, meaning 'pure' or 'free from dirt', so to call something clean is to say it has no dirt or harmful substances.