cleanest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of clean.

   Solar power is one of the cleanest energy sources available today.

   The inspector praised the restaurant as the cleanest in the district.

   Note

   The top of the scale for clean, formed regularly with -est after cleaner. It extends naturally to the 'few impurities' sense, so a fuel or transport that is cleanest pollutes least, as when Network Rail's Andrew Haines called rail 'the cleanest and greenest mode' in 2020. The same spelling also belongs to the archaic thou-form of the verb. The adjective usually follows 'the' or 'one of the', while the verb follows 'thou'.

2. 2
   verbarchaic

   Second-person singular simple present indicative of clean, used with the pronoun "thou."

   Note

   Here -est is a verb ending, not a degree. It marks agreement with thou, so thou cleanest corresponds to modern you clean. It belongs to archaic or deliberately old-fashioned writing, such as scripture-style prose or historical pastiche. Any sense of the verb can take it, whether wiping a blade or clearing a room. To keep the register consistent, pair it with thee and thy rather than you and your.

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