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spring-clean

American  
[spring-kleen] / ˈsprɪŋˈklin /

verb (used with object)

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

spring-clean British  

verb

  1. 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

  1. 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.

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

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

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.