Meaning & use
clean
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Free from dirt, marks or anything unwanted.
Grammar: After be or before a noun: a clean shirt.
Patterns
- clean and tidy
- keep something clean
The kitchen was spotless and clean.
He put on a clean shirt.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Honest, fair, or free from wrongdoing or bad record.
Grammar: Often before a noun: a clean record.
Patterns
- a clean record
- a clean sheet
She has a clean driving record.
It was a clean fight with no fouls.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To remove dirt from something.
Grammar: Takes an object: clean the window; or used alone: she cleans on Fridays.
Patterns
- clean something
- clean something up
- clean up
I cleaned the house before the guests arrived.
He cleans for a living.
adverbnot comparableinformal
Completely or entirely, used with a few verbs.
Grammar: Informal with verbs like get away and break.
Patterns
- clean away
- clean through
The ball went clean through the window.
They got clean away with the loot.
Word forms
| comparative | cleaner |
|---|---|
| superlative | cleanest |
| third person singular | cleans |
| past tense | cleaned |
| past participle | cleaned |
| -ing form | cleaning |
Common combinations
- squeaky clean
- His image is squeaky clean.
- clean energy
- The city invests in clean energy.
- clean up
- Please clean up the mess.
- come clean
- He decided to come clean about the mistake.
- clean record
- She has a clean record.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spotless
- Stronger; with no mark at all.
- pure
- Stresses no mixing with anything else.
- tidy
- Means well ordered, not necessarily free of dirt.
Opposites
Word family
- cleaner noun
- a person or product that cleans
- cleanliness noun
- being free from dirt
- cleanse verb
- to make thoroughly clean
Commonly confused: clean or clear?
clean vs clear
Clear means transparent or easy to understand, not free of dirt.
Practice
After the scandal, the senator insisted he had a ___ record.
Choose one answer.
A clean record means no wrongdoing. Clear and pure are not used in that collocation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clean”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.