clean

English Online Dictionary. What means clean‎? What does clean mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English clene, clane, from Old English clǣne (“clean, pure”), from Proto-West Germanic *klainī (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *glēy- (“gleaming”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to gleam”). Cognate with Scots clean (“absolute, pure, clear, empty”) and clene, clane (“clean”), North Frisian klien (“small”), West Frisian klien (“small”), klean (“clean”), Dutch klein (“small”), Low German kleen (“small”), German klein (“small”), Swedish klen (“weak, feeble, delicate”), Icelandic klénn (“poor, feeble, petty, snug, puny, cheesy, lame”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kliːn/, [kʰl̥iːn]
• (General American) enPR: klēn, IPA^(key): /klin/, [kʰl̥ĩn]
• (Ireland, dated) enPR: klān, IPA^(key): /kleːn/, [kʰl̥eːn]
  • (Local Dublin) IPA^(key): /kliːn/, [kʰl̥iːn]
• Rhymes: -iːn

Adjective

clean (comparative cleaner, superlative cleanest)

1. Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled.
   1. (of metal) Having relatively few impurities.

2. Free of contamination, (unwanted) germs, infection, or disease.

   Insert a clean swab into your nose.

   1. Devoid of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

3. Free of imperfections, blemishes, or defects.
   1. (sports, for example, professional wrestling, slang) Of a victory or performance: without any blemishes such as submission holds, disqualification, interference, etc.

      Our team won, but it wasn't clean.

   2. (climbing, of a route) Ascended without falling.
   3. Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects.

   4. In an unmarked condition; blank.

4. Free of immorality or criminality.
   1. Pure, especially morally or religiously.
   2. Not using drugs or alcohol.
   3. Free from (or showing no signs of) corrupt, unlawful, and/or sinister conduct or connections (and (of criminal, driving, etc. records) therefore without restrictions or penalties).

   4. (informal) Not in possession of weapons or contraband such as drugs.

   5. (informal) Devoid of profanity.
5. Free of infiltration by covert listening or recording devices (bugs), enemy spies, etc.
6. Empty.

   Synonyms: vacant, void; see also Thesaurus:empty

7. Smooth, exact, and performed well.

8. That does not damage the environment (as much as some alternative).
9. (aerodynamics) Allowing an uninterrupted flow over surfaces, without protrusions such as racks or landing gear.
10. (aviation) Having the undercarriage and flaps in the up position.

    Antonym: dirty

11. Well-proportioned; shapely.

12. (informal) Cool or neat.

13. Free from restraint; complete; entire; total; utter; pure.

Synonyms

• (not dirty): Thesaurus:clean

Antonyms

• dirty
• unclean

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

clean (plural cleans)

1. Removal of dirt.

2. (weightlifting) The first part of the event clean and jerk in which the weight is brought from the ground to the shoulders.
3. (in the plural, metal music) Clear vocals, contrasted with death growls and screams.

Derived terms

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.

2. (transitive) To tidy up, make a place neat.

3. (transitive, climbing) To remove equipment from a climbing route after it was previously lead climbed.
4. (intransitive) To make things clean in general.

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. (video games) Synonym of clean up.
9. To remove guts and/or scales of a butchered animal.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:make clean

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

clean (comparative cleaner, superlative cleanest)

1. Fully and completely.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Calne, Lance, Lenca, ancle, clane, lance

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English clean.

Adjective

clean (neuter clean, plural and definite singular attributive clean)

1. drugfree, not having used recreational drugs

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English clean. Doublet of klein.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kliːn]

Adjective

clean (strong nominative masculine singular cleaner, comparative cleaner, superlative am cleansten)

1. (colloquial) clean, drugfree

Declension

Further reading

• “clean” in Duden online
• “clean” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish clíabán.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klʲeːn/

Noun

clean m (genitive singular clean, plural cleanyn)

1. cradle (oscillating bed for a baby)

2. cot
3. cage (of birds)
4. pannier

Mutation

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Bulgarian клян (kljan), from Proto-Slavic *klěnь.

Noun

clean m (plural cleni)

1. chub (Squalius cephalus)

Declension