cleanly

1 of 2

adverb

clean·​ly ˈklēn-lē 

: in a clean manner

cleanly

2 of 2

adjective

clean·​ly ˈklen-lē 

cleanlier; cleanliest

1

: careful to keep clean : fastidious

2

: habitually kept clean

Synonyms of cleanly

Adverb

• legally

Examples of cleanly in a Sentence

Adverb

A sharp knife will cut through the skin of a tomato cleanly.

This fuel burns more cleanly than other fuels.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

The trick is to find workloads that fit within those constraints or can be cleanly split across many small nodes. — New Atlas, 2 July 2026

None of that shows up cleanly on a productivity dashboard, and none of it gets rebuilt overnight when a senior person walks out the door. — Nik Froehlich, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Adjective

Whoever wins cleanly leaves with both the championship belts. — Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025

The folding handles close away neatly into side recesses to create flush sides that store cleanly side by side. — New Atlas, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

circa 1500, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cleanly

• greenly
• keenly
• meanly
• queenly
• routinely

Kids Definition

cleanly

1 of 2 adverb

clean·​ly ˈklēn-lē 

: in a clean manner

cleanly

2 of 2 adjective

clean·​ly ˈklen-lē 

cleanlier; cleanliest

1

: careful to keep clean

a cleanly animal

2

: being kept clean by habit

cleanly surroundings

cleanliness noun