clean*/*/*/

[kliːn] adj I

1) not dirty or polluted

Go and put on a clean shirt.[/ex]

the clean country air[/ex]

Tom had scrubbed the floor clean.[/ex]

I like to keep the place clean and tidy.[/ex]

Everything in the house was spotlessly clean (= extremely clean).[/ex]

2) a clean piece of paper does not have anything written on it

3) not illegal or unfair, or not involved in anything illegal or unfair

It was a good clean fight.[/ex]

I've got a clean driving licence (= I have not committed any driving offences).[/ex]

4) clean language or humour does not offend people because it does not involve sex or swearing

•

a clean slate / sheet — a situation in which everything bad that you have done in the past has been forgiven or forgotten[/ex]

We have the chance to start over, with a clean slate.[/ex]

come clean — to tell the truth about something that you have kept secret[/ex]

See:

squeaky clean

II

verb

clean */*/*/[kliːn]

1) [T] to remove the dirt from something

Paul is cleaning his car.[/ex]

You should clean your teeth twice a day.[/ex]

2) [I/T] to remove the dirt and dust in a house

We've cleaned the house from top to bottom.[/ex]

I was cleaning all morning.[/ex]

•

- clean sth out

- clean (sth) up

- clean sth up

- clean up after sb

Other ways of saying clean ■ brush to clean something by rubbing it with a brush ■ cleanse to clean your skin thoroughly using a special liquid or cream ■ dust to remove dust from furniture and other surfaces using a soft cloth ■ scrub to clean something by rubbing it hard with a brush and soap and water ■ sweep to clean a floor using a brush with a long handle ■ wash to clean something using water and soap ■ wipe to clean a surface such as a table using a cloth that is slightly wet III

adv

informal clean [kliːn]

used for emphasizing that something happens completely

The blast blew the windows clean out of the building.[/ex]

IV

noun [singular] British

clean [kliːn]

an occasion when you clean something