clean

Less common meanings

13. 13
    adjective

    Free from corrupt, unlawful, or dishonest conduct; (of a criminal or driving record) carrying no penalties or restrictions.

    Investigators concluded that the firm's accounts were entirely clean.

    A clean criminal record helped her pass the security check.

    UsageOften a clean record. A background check can come back clean.

    Similarhonest, legitimate, spotless, unblemished, aboveboard

    Oppositecorrupt, dishonest, crooked, dirty

    Note

    Here the word belongs to the vocabulary of checking. A record, a background check or a vetting comes back clean when it turns up nothing that counts against you. What counts depends on who is checking: in Haynes, Klehr and Vassiliev's Spies (2009), a would-be Soviet agent was clean partly because he had no relatives abroad. Unlike moral or religious purity, this clean describes a file, not a soul. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Spies was written by John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev. yalebooks.co.uk
    • Spies was first published in 2009. wilsoncenter.org
    • The book describes a prospective Soviet spy as clean partly because he had no relatives abroad. en.wiktionary.org
14. 14
    no swearingadjective

    Free of swearing, obscene material, or sexual content.

    She prefers clean comedy that the whole family can enjoy.

    The radio edit is clean, with every swear word removed.

    UsageKeep it clean asks people to avoid swearing or obscene content; also clean jokes, a clean version of a song.

    Similarwholesome, decent, inoffensive

    Oppositeexplicit, dirty, obscene, crude

15. 15
    adjective

    Of sound, a recording, or an audio signal, clear and undistorted, with no unwanted noise.

    The remastered album sounds remarkably clean, with none of the hiss of the original tapes.

    The engineer swapped out a faulty cable and got a much cleaner signal from the guitar amp.

    Similarclear, crisp

    Oppositedistorted, noisy

    Note

    Musicians and engineers set clean against distorted. A guitarist's clean tone is the undistorted sound, and many amplifiers have a clean channel beside an overdrive one, so here clean is a technical choice, not simply praise. In recording, a clean signal is one with little hiss, hum or crackle, and noisy is the opposite term. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Amplifiers have separate clean and overdrive channels. marshall.com
    • The contrasting adjective is noisy; noise names the unwanted component of the signal. en.wiktionary.org
16. 16
    blankadjective

    Having nothing on or in it; blank, unmarked, or empty, as a clean sheet of paper.

    She turned to a clean page in her notebook and started the list again.

    The artist stared at the clean canvas for an hour before making her first mark.

    UsageCommon in a clean page and the idiom a clean slate (a fresh start).

    Similarblank, fresh, unmarked, empty

    Oppositeused, marked

17. 17
    all the wayadverb

    Fully and completely; all the way.

    The arrow passed clean through the target.

    By the time the alarm sounded, the thief had got clean away.

    UsageUsually before through, over or away: clean through the target, got clean away.

    Similarcompletely, right, clear, fully, entirely

    Note

    The adverb is an intensifier of totality. It appears in phrases such as stabbed clean through, a wave going clean over a lighthouse, or even clean mad. James Howell writes "clean contrary" in 1655, so the pattern is far from new. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • James Howell uses the exact phrase "clean contrary". upload.wikimedia.org
    • The fourth volume containing Howell's quotation was first published in 1655. en.wikisource.org
18. 18
    gut fishverbtransitive

    To remove the internal organs and other unwanted parts, such as scales or feathers, from a fish or other animal killed for food.

    The fisherman cleaned his catch on the dock as gulls circled.

    Hunters must clean the deer quickly to preserve the meat.

    UsageThe object is the animal, not what is removed: clean a fish, clean the deer.

    Similargut, dress

    Note

    In this kitchen use, what is removed is not dirt at all but part of the animal itself: the guts, and for fish the scales. Gut and scale each name a single job, while clean covers the whole preparation. That sets it apart from the everyday dirt-removing verb. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Cleaning an animal for food can involve removing its guts and scales rather than dirt. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    adjective

    Of food or an eating plan, consisting of whole foods with little processing, thought of as healthy.

    After a month on a clean diet, he said he had more energy and slept better.

    The cafe markets its menu as clean, built around whole grains, roasted vegetables, and nothing from a package.

    UsageMost often clean eating or a clean diet. Some readers hear it as marketing, preferring whole or minimally processed.

    Similarwholesome, healthy

    Note

    A wellness word whose home phrase is clean eating. It borrows the moral glow of the sense of purity, and that is the usual objection to it: calling some food clean implies that other food is dirty. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • A documented objection to describing food as clean is that it implies other food is dirty. nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu
20. 20
    adjectivecolloquial

    Cool, neat, or impressively stylish.

    His whole look tonight, from the fresh fade to the gold watch, is seriously clean.

    Dude, your outfit is so clean tonight; the hat really pulls it together.

    Similarslick, sharp, neat, cool, fresh

21. 21
    weightliftingnouncountable

    In weightlifting, the first movement of the clean and jerk, raising the bar from the floor to the shoulders.

    After a smooth clean, he struggled to lock out the jerk, and the judges ruled the lift no good.

    A strong clean sets up the rest of the lift.

    Note

    A weightlifter's noun, and half of an event's name. The clean and jerk is two movements joined by and, and either half can be named on its own. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The clean and jerk consists of two movements, separately named the clean and the jerk. iwf.sport
22. 22
    adjective

    Complete, total, or absolute; free from anything that limits or holds back.

    The thieves made a clean getaway before police arrived.

    She wanted a clean break from her old life.

    UsageMostly in set phrases: a clean break, a clean sweep, a clean getaway.

    Similarcomplete, total, decisive

    Oppositepartial

    Note

    The King James Bible of 1611 already has it: "thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field," where clean riddance means reaping everything and leaving nothing behind. It also describes feelings without admixture, as in Arianne Shahvisi's "clean thrill of getting the right answer." The adverb of totality carries the same idea. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
    • Arianne Shahvisi wrote “clean thrill of getting the right answer.” en.wiktionary.org
23. 23
    adjectivecolloquial

    Not in possession of weapons or illegal goods such as drugs.

    Police patted him down and confirmed he was clean.

    The couriers traveled clean that night, leaving the cargo behind.

24. 24
    delete filesverbtransitive

    To remove unnecessary files from a directory, drive, or other storage.

    The script cleans the cache directory every night.

    Engineers clean the build directory before each release.

    Similarclear, purge, empty, flush

    Note

    Computing borrows the household verb for storage. A script cleans a cache, or an engineer cleans a build directory, clearing out what is no longer needed. The usual object is the container, such as the directory or the drive, though programmers also speak of cleaning the unwanted files themselves. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Cleaning can remove all contents: npm's cache-cleaning command deletes all data from its cache folder. docs.npmjs.com
    • Files being removed can be the object: Git's documentation explicitly uses clean files. git-scm.com
25. 25
    adjective

    Of a victory or performance, free of fouls, interference, or disqualification.

    The judges called it a clean win, untainted by any foul.

    She earned a clean victory after dominating every round.

    Similarfair, undisputed, legitimate

    Oppositetainted, disputed

    Note

    Professional wrestling and other sports keep a strict ledger. A clean win comes without disqualification, interference or cheating. Anything less can be called a win that "wasn't clean".

26. 26
    finish offverbtransitive

    In video games, usually clean up: to deal with or finish off whatever remains, such as the last enemies or objectives.

    Once the tank went down, our healer hung back to clean up the stragglers while the rest of us pushed ahead.

    I spent the weekend cleaning up the leftover collectibles so I could finally reach one hundred percent completion.

    UsageMost often clean up: clean up the stragglers, clean up the last few goblins.

    Similarclear, finish

    Note

    Gamers drop the particle. To clean an area means to clean it up, finishing off whatever is left once the main threat is handled. The object is usually what remains, such as mobs, spawns or leftover enemies.

27. 27
    free of spiesadjective

    Free of hidden listening or recording devices and of enemy spies.

    Technicians swept the embassy and declared the suite clean.

    She refused to talk until the car was confirmed clean.

    Similarsecure

    Oppositebugged

    Note

    Security work uses the word for a space that has been checked and found free of bugs or watchers. Rooms are swept, and a swept room is clean. In Gayle Rivers's The Killing House (1988), a room is vouched for as clean, "As a whistle," with the warning that a bug can still be planted between sweeps. It extends to procedures too, so a team can be clean on OPSEC. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Gayle Rivers wrote The Killing House. openlibrary.org
    • The quoted reply is "As a whistle." The word "clean" occurs in the preceding question. en.wiktionary.org
    • The passage warns that a bug can be planted between sweeps. en.wiktionary.org
28. 28
    nouncountableplural

    In metal music, clearly sung vocals, contrasted with death growls and screams.

    Their singer layers melodic cleans over the band's brutal riffs.

    Their early records were pure growling, but the new songs lean heavily on cleans, which some longtime fans find too soft.

    Note

    Metal fans and critics have turned the adjective into a plural noun. Cleans are clearly sung vocals, set against growls and screams. A singer delivers "searing screams and hauntingly melodic cleans," and reviewers measure them, as when a band lets "a small amount of cleans" into its recent output. Clean vocals is the fuller phrase it stands for. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The quoted description of a singer's screams and cleans is authentic; Wiktionary attributes it to Jay Shields's review in Elite Online Mag. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted reference to a small amount of cleans appearing in a band's recent output is authentic; Wiktionary attributes it to Jake Richardson's Loudwire article. en.wiktionary.org
29. 29
    adjective

    Of an aircraft, with landing gear and flaps retracted and nothing protruding, so air flows smoothly over it.

    The pilot kept the aircraft clean during the climb, waiting until final approach to extend the flaps and gear.

    A clean wing produces far less drag at cruising speed.

    Oppositedirty

    Note

    Aerodynamicists use it for a shape the air can pass over without catching. Such a shape has no external racks, no lowered landing gear and nothing protruding into the flow. A clean airframe or wing keeps its surfaces unbroken. Pilots use it for one configuration in particular: an aircraft flying with its landing gear and flaps raised is clean. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Aerodynamic cleanliness involves removing protrusions and smoothing irregularities that cause drag. nasa.gov
    • A clean aerodynamic surface is free of gaps and adjacent protrusions. ntrs.nasa.gov
    • An aircraft's clean flight configuration has its landing gear and flaps retracted. public-inspection.federalregister.gov
30. 30
    adjective

    Of a climb, completed from bottom to top without any falls.
31. 31
    adjective

    Having no flaws, and nothing in it that is unneeded or harmful.
32. 32
    verb

    To take out the protective gear left on a route after a lead climber has gone up it.
33. 33
    verb

    To sweep gently ahead of a sliding stone to clear away bits of debris so it stays on its proper path, using lighter strokes than a full sweep.
34. 34
    verbslang

    To touch up a scanned comic page, removing flaws left by the scanner such as a brownish tint or weak color contrast.