cleanliness

noun

clean·​li·​ness ˈklen-lē-nəs 

: the quality or state of being clean : the practice of keeping oneself or one's surroundings clean

Though a stale remark, it can hardly be said too often, that personal cleanliness is one of the necessary agents to health …

—Walt Whitman

The Romans spent hours at their elaborate bathhouse complexes, but not everyone equated cleanliness with virtue …

—Sara Ivry

This cleanliness is necessary to ensure that no dust or particles end up on the silicon surface during the processing of the chip.

—Robert J. Cone

Examples of cleanliness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The recent study, conducted by Oxi Fresh, a carpet cleaning company, graded each metro area based on several key indicators of cleanliness, including air and water quality, rodent and cockroach infestation, litter and vandalism, and population density. —Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025

Users are prompted with a survey about cleanliness after usage, Yee said. —Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 2 July 2025

These include leadership alignment, enterprise strategy, data cleanliness and availability, the need for a modern technological infrastructure, the right internal skills and capabilities and the ability to manage large-scale change. —Adrian Swinscoe, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

This sterilizer performed well; our tester felt very satisfied with the cleanliness and sterilization of the bottles and pump parts. —Olivia Campbell, Parents, 24 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cleanliness

• cleanliness is next to godliness