clean : Idioms & Phrases


A clean bill of health

  • a certificate from the proper authrity that a ship is free from infection.
Webster 1913

A clean breach

  • implies that everything on deck is swept away.
Webster 1913

air cleaner

  • noun a filter that removes dust from the air that passes through it
    air filter.
WordNet

bathroom cleaner

  • noun a preparation for cleaning bathrooms
WordNet

clean and jerk

  • noun a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then jerked overhead
    clean.
WordNet

clean bill of health

  • noun an assurance that someone is healthy or something is in good condition
    • the doctor gave him a clean bill of health
WordNet

clean bomb

  • noun an atom bomb leaving little or no radioactive contamination
WordNet

Clean breach

  • . See under Breach, n., 4.
Webster 1913

clean house

  • verb clean and tidy up the house
    houseclean; clean.
    • She housecleans every week
WordNet

clean out

  • verb empty completely
    clear out.
    • We cleaned out all the drawers
  • verb force out
    • The new boss cleaned out the lazy workers
  • verb deprive completely of money or goods
    • The robbers cleaned us out in a couple of hours
WordNet

clean room

  • noun a room that is virtually free of dust or bacteria; used in laboratory work and in assembly or repair of precision equipment
    white room.
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clean slate

  • noun an opportunity to start over without prejudice
    fresh start; tabula rasa.
WordNet

clean up

  • verb put (things or places) in order
    straighten out; tidy up; tidy; straighten; square away; neaten.
    • Tidy up your room!
  • verb make a big profit; often in a short period of time
    • The investor really cleaned up when the stock market went up
  • verb dispose of
    • settle the bills
  • verb make oneself clean, presentable or neat
    • Clean up before you go to the party
WordNet

clean-burning

  • adjective satellite leaving little contamination while consuming fuel
    • natural gas is a clean-burning fuel
WordNet

clean-cut

  • adjective satellite neat and smart in appearance
    trim; trig.
    • a clean-cut and well-bred young man
    • the trig corporal in his jaunty cap
    • a trim beard
  • adjective satellite clear and distinct to the senses; easily perceptible
    clear-cut; clear.
    • as clear as a whistle
    • clear footprints in the snow
    • the letter brought back a clear image of his grandfather
    • a spire clean-cut against the sky
    • a clear-cut pattern
WordNet
Clean"-cut` adjective
Definitions
  1. See Clear-cut.
Webster 1913

clean-handed

  • adjective free from evil or guilt
    guiltless; innocent.
    • an innocent child
    • the principle that one is innocent until proved guilty
WordNet

clean-limbed

  • adjective satellite having well-proportioned limbs
WordNet
Clean"-limbed` adjective
Definitions
  1. With well-proportioned, unblemished limbs; as, a clean-limbed young fellow. Dickens.
Webster 1913

clean-living

  • adjective satellite morally pure
    clean.
    • led a clean life
WordNet

clean-shaven

  • adjective satellite closely shaved recently
    smooth-shaven; well-shaven.
WordNet

clean-timbered

Clean"-tim`bered adjective
Definitions
  1. Well-propotioned; symmetrical. Poetic Shak.
Webster 1913

cleaning device

  • noun any of a large class of implements used for cleaning
    cleaning equipment; cleaning device.
WordNet

cleaning equipment

  • noun any of a large class of implements used for cleaning
    cleaning equipment; cleaning device.
WordNet

cleaning implement

  • noun any of a large class of implements used for cleaning
    cleaning equipment; cleaning device.
WordNet

cleaning lady

  • noun a human female employed to do housework
    char; woman; charwoman; cleaning lady.
    • the char will clean the carpet
    • I have a woman who comes in four hours a day while I write
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cleaning pad

  • noun a pad used as a cleaning implement
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cleaning woman

  • noun a human female employed to do housework
    char; woman; charwoman; cleaning lady.
    • the char will clean the carpet
    • I have a woman who comes in four hours a day while I write
WordNet

dry clean

  • verb clean with chemical agents
    dry clean.
WordNet

dry cleaner

  • noun the operator of dry-cleaning establishment
    cleaner.
WordNet

dry cleaning

  • noun the act of cleaning (fabrics) with a solvent other than water
  • verb clean with chemical agents
    dry clean.
WordNet

dry-cleaned

  • adjective satellite cleaned with chemical solvents
WordNet

laminar flow clean room

  • noun a clean room free of all extraneous particles; used in fabricating microprocessors
WordNet

make a clean breast of

  • verb admit or acknowledge a wrongdoing or error
    fess up; own up.
    • the writer of the anonymous letter owned up after they identified his handwriting
WordNet

make clean

  • verb make clean by removing dirt, filth, or unwanted substances from
    clean.
    • Clean the stove!
    • The dentist cleaned my teeth
WordNet

pipe cleaner

  • noun cleaning implement consisting of a flexible tufted wire that is used to clean a pipe stem
WordNet

spring-clean

  • verb thoroughly clean the entire house, often done only once a year
    spring-clean.
    • she started spring-cleaning on April 1
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spring-cleaning

  • noun the activity of cleaning a house thoroughly at the end of winter
  • verb thoroughly clean the entire house, often done only once a year
    spring-clean.
    • she started spring-cleaning on April 1
WordNet

steam clean

  • verb clean by means of steaming
    steam.
    • steam-clean the upholstered sofa
WordNet

street cleaner

  • noun a worker employed to clean streets (especially one employed by a municipal sanitation department)
    street sweeper.
WordNet

To clean out

  • to exhaust; to empty; to get away from (one) all his money. Colloq.
Webster 1913

To make a clean breast

  • to disclose the secrets which weigh upon one; to make full confession.
Webster 1913

vacuum cleaner

  • noun an electrical home appliance that cleans by suction
    vacuum.
WordNet

vacuum-clean

  • verb clean with a vacuum cleaner
    hoover; vacuum.
    • vacuum the carpets
WordNet

window cleaner

  • noun someone who cleans windows for pay
WordNet