cleanliness
Americannoun
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the quality, state, or habit of being cleanly, or keeping oneself clean and neat.
personal cleanliness.
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the quality, state, or habit of being kept clean, as a place or object.
the cleanliness of the restaurant.
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the state or quality of being morally pure or upright.
spiritual cleanliness.
Etymology
Origin of cleanliness
First recorded in 1425–75; Middle English clenlynesse, clenlines , see origin at cleanly ( def. ), -ness ( def. )
Explanation
Cleanliness is a habit of staying neat and tidy, or sterile. Cleanliness in your bedroom is nice, but cleanliness in a hospital operating room is critical. If your friend remarks on the cleanliness of your locker, it's probably because of your thoughtful, color-coordinated organizational system. And if that same friend questions the cleanliness of your socks, it's probably because your feet smell terrible. Cleric John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, is famous for the line, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness," implying that how clean or dirty you are is a reflection of your moral character.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To this day, all orders are custom-made and nothing is frozen, a practice that stays true to the founding couple’s promise of “Quality, Cleanliness and Service.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Mr. Bezwada’s Campaign of the Cleanliness Workers movement has recorded over 1,300 sanitation worker deaths since the early 1990s.
From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2024
They formed a group last year, called the Situ Gede Cleanliness Warrior, named after the lake.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023
Cleanliness has historically been used as a cultural gatekeeping mechanism to reinforce status distinctions based on a vague understanding of "niceness": Nice people, with nice yards, in nice houses, make for nice neighborhoods.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2023
“Well, I don’t feel so good. But I gets up and dresses myself. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
