clean/dirty

Từ điển Oxford Learners Wordfinder Dictionary

1 clean
2 dirty
3 making sth clean
4 making yourself clean and tidy

1 clean
- free from dirt: clean
Your room looks very clean and tidy. ◎ Are your hands clean?
- very clean: spotless (adverb spotlessly)
The kitchen looks absolutely spotless. ◎ spotlessly clean
- changed and new (or washed) and therefore clean: fresh
I've put fresh towels in your room.
※—† clean and healthy
- keeping yourself and things around clean, so as to avoid the spread of disease: hygiene (noun U); adjective: hygienic
The restaurant has very high standards of hygiene. ◎ It is hygienic to wash your hands before you start cooking.
- the state of being clean and hygienic: cleanliness (noun U)
- connected with the protection of health: sanitary
Sanitary conditions were not satisfactory.
- a system for protecting public health, especially by removing waste: sanitation (noun U)
There is no sanitation in the poorer parts of the city.
- completely clean and free from all dirt and bacteria: sterile; to make sth sterile: sterilize sth
sterile equipment ◎ Sterilize the needle before you use it.
- to clean sth, for example a wound, with a substance that kills germs: disinfect sth
to disinfect a wound
- a substance used for disinfecting things, for example a wound or a piece of medical equipment: disinfectant (noun U)

2 dirty
- a substance which is not clean: dirt (noun U), (informal) muck (noun U); disgusting dirt: filth (noun U)
There was dirt all over the carpet. ◎ We tried to get the dirt out of the cut.
- covered with or containing dirt: dirty, (informal) mucky
dirty clothes ◎ My hands are a bit mucky - I've been cleaning my bike.
- very dirty: filthy
We went for a walk across the fields and came back absolutely filthy.
- a person or thing that is dirty or untidy: a mess
You look a mess - you'd better wash your hair and put some clean clothes on.
- a fine dry powder that is made of very small pieces of earth or dirt: dust (noun U); covered with dust: dusty
Everything in the cupboard was covered in dust. ◎ dusty old books
- soft, wet earth: mud (noun U); covered with mud: muddy
muddy water ◎ muddy shoes
- a thick unpleasant sticky liquid: slime (noun U); covered with slime: slimy
※—† marks and stains
- something on clothes, furniture, paper, etc, which spoils its appearance: mark
There were marks on the walls, where somebody had put their dirty hands.
- a small round mark of a different colour on sth (clothes for example): spot (of sth)
There was a small spot of grease on his tie.
- a mark on sth which is difficult to remove: stain; to make this kind of mark on sth: stain (sth)
There's a coffee stain on the carpet. ◎ Be careful, red wine stains.
- to spread a sticky substance across sth: smear sth; a mark made in this way: smear
The child had smeared food all over her face.
- to make a dirty or untidy mark by rubbing: smudge sth; a mark made in this way: smudge
The page was covered in ink smudges.
※—† dirty and unpleasant living conditions
- the state of being dirty or untidy: mess (noun C/U); adjective: messy; opposite: tidy
Who's going to tidy up this mess? ◎ a messy room/desk
- to make sth messy: mess sth up, make* a mess of sth
I baked a cake and made a mess of the kitchen.
※ being tidy or untidy TIDY
- very dirty, untidy and unpleasant: squalid
to live in squalid conditions ◎ a squalid house
- the state of being very dirty and untidy: squalor (noun U)
to live in squalor
- dirty-looking, without much light: dingy
a dark and dingy house
- a room or house that is very dirty or untidy: (informal) tip, (informal) pigsty
His bedroom's a real tip/pigsty.
※—† dirty and harmful
- dirty conditions which are likely to cause disease are insanitary, unhygienic
insanitary conditions ◎ unhygienic habits
- to add a substance that will make sth, particularly food or water, dirty, harmful or dangerous: contaminate sth; noun (U): contamination
contamination of the water supply
- to make air and rivers dirty and dangerous: pollute sth; noun (U): pollution; adjective: polluted
beaches that are affected by pollution ◎ polluted rivers

3 making sth clean
- to make sth clean: clean sth; an act of cleaning: clean
to clean the cooker/carpet/bedroom ◎ I'm going to give the car a clean.
- to clean sth with water and often soap: wash sth; an act of washing: wash
to wash your clothes ◎ to wash the dishes ◎ This floor needs a wash.
※ more on washing WASH
- a person whose job it is to clean things: cleaner
an office cleaner
- a woman whose job it is to clean houses or offices: cleaning lady, cleaning woman
- something which is used for cleaning things: cleaner
Have you got any bathroom cleaner? (= a substance to clean a bathroom with)
- a strong chemical substance used for cleaning things like toilets: bleach (noun U)
- to clean the inside of sth, getting rid of things you do not need: clean sth out
We had to clean out the flat when we left. ◎ to clean out a cupboard/drawer
- to remove dirt and rubbish from a place: clean (sth) up; an act of cleaning around the house: clean-up
We'd better clean up this mess before they get back. ◎ This place needs a good clean-up.
- if you remove dirt or a mark from a piece of clothing, a carpet, etc, you get* it out
I got the wine stain out with a special stain remover.
- if dirt or a mark is removed by cleaning, it comes* out
Stains like this hardly ever come out.
- a small piece of material used for cleaning things: cloth; a piece of old cloth that is used for cleaning things: rag
a damp/soft cloth
- to clean a surface by rubbing it with a cloth, etc: wipe sth
Could you wipe the table? ◎ to wipe the floor ◎ to wipe your mouth
- to remove sth by wiping: wipe sth off
She wiped the black mark off her face.
- to use a cloth to remove some liquid, food, etc that has been spilt: wipe sth up
Could you wipe up that milk you've spilt, please.
- to remove dirt, etc by moving a sharp edge across a surface: scrape sth off
Scrape the mud off your boots before you come in the house.
- to make sth shine by rubbing it and often by putting a special cream or liquid on it: polish sth; an act of polishing: polish; adjective: polished
to polish a table/car/window ◎ to give sth a polish ◎ a polished floor
- a cream, liquid, wax, etc, that you put on sth to clean it and make it shine: polish (noun U)
car/floor/shoe polish
- to clean dust from a surface by wiping it with a dry cloth: dust sth
to dust furniture/shelves/books
- a soft cloth that you use for dusting furniture: duster
- to remove dirt from the floor with a brush: brush sth, sweep* sth; an act of brushing sth: brush, sweep
to brush/sweep the floor ◎ to give sth a brush ◎ The floor needs a sweep.
- an electric machine that cleans carpets by sucking up the dirt: vacuum cleaner, hoover
- to clean sth using a vacuum cleaner: vacuum (sth), hoover (sth)
to vacuum/hoover the carpet
※ more on brushes and brushing BRUSH
- the work that is needed to keep a house clean and tidy: cleaning (noun U), housework (noun U)
Who does the cleaning in your house? ◎ to do the housework
- to clean everything in a house thoroughly: spring-clean sth; an act of spring-cleaning: spring-clean
to give the house a spring-clean
Note: with everyday actions such as cleaning, washing, dusting, etc, we use do*:
to do the vacuuming/cleaning/washing-up/dusting ◎ I do the cleaning on Saturdays.
- a large container for rubbish (usually kept outside the house): dustbin (AmE garbage can, trashcan)
- a small container that you keep inside your house for rubbish: bin, waste-paper basket (AmE waste bin, wastebasket)
※ more on rubbish RUBBISH

4 making yourself clean and tidy
- to use soap and water to make yourself clean: wash (sth/yourself), have a wash
to wash your face/hair/hands ◎ I'm just going to have a quick wash and then I'll be ready.
- to make yourself look tidier and cleaner: clean (yourself) up
I'll just clean myself up a bit before I go.
※ more on washing yourself WASH
- making your hair clean and attractive HAIR
- a thin piece of soft paper that you use for wiping your nose, cleaning your skin, etc: tissue
a box of tissues ◎ I offered her a tissue to wipe away her tears.
- soft, loose, cotton in a mass, used for cleaning the skin: cotton wool (noun U)
a piece of cotton wool
- substances that you use to make yourself look more attractive: cosmetics
※ more on cosmetics COSMETICS