spring-clean

American

[spring-kleen] / ˈsprɪŋˈklin /

verb (used with object)

to subject (a place) to a spring-cleaning.

spring-clean British

verb

to clean (a house) thoroughly: traditionally at the end of the winter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

an instance of spring-cleaning

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

spring-cleaning noun

Etymology

Origin of spring-clean

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

Katherine and Mrs. Burton were busier than anyone, for they had the store to spring-clean, and that was a task calling for hard work and careful management.

From A Countess from Canada A Story of Life in the Backwoods by Marchant, Bessie

One sweep of that great tongue was warranted to spring-clean a cub down all one side from throat to tail.

From Dusty Star by Baker, Olaf

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023