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

Austria and Finland also ranked highly for the cleanliness of their inland waters at 95.8 percent and 93.8 percent, respectively, with each having a much higher number of inland bodies of water tested (260 for Austria and 225 for Finland). —Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 5 Aug. 2025

Instead, hiring an appropriate wet nurse with both cleanliness of hygiene and character was the norm. —Alexandra Bregman, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025

That includes several Blue Flag beaches, an organization that finds and awards coastal stretches for their sustainability and cleanliness, like Ai Helis Beach, Ammes Beach, Aragia Beach, and Makris Gialos Beach. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2025

Shop cleanliness and air quality, which are often ignored in tool design, are front and center with their GYRO AIR dust collection system. —Jason Phillips, USA Today, 17 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cleanliness

• cleanliness is next to godliness