adverb
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in a fair manner
-
easily or smoothly
the screw went into the wood cleanly
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of cleanly
before 900; Middle English clenlich ( e ), Old English clǣnlīc, equivalent to clǣne clean + -līc -ly
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.
The wounds from a spell that brought one league title and Copa del Rey did not heal cleanly.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
“But we also have slowing growth, re-accelerating inflation, and a Fed that cannot move cleanly in either direction.”
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
Mince the hard-boiled eggs cleanly — decisive cuts, not frantic mashing.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026
Couple that with the group’s uncompromising punk rock attitude about their structure and message, and it’s easy to see why Irreversible Entanglements might not fit cleanly into everyone’s preconceived notions about “jazz.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
The Cal frosh fairly skimmed over the water, their oars coming well clear of the waves between strokes and digging cleanly into them on the catch at the beginning of each stroke.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
