wipe the slate clean Definition

clean
adj cleaner, cleanest

1. Free from dirt or contamination.
2. Not containing anything harmful to health; pure.
3. Pleasantly fresh.

Example: a clean taste
4. Recently washed.
5. Hygienic in habits.

Example: a clean animal
6. Unused; unmarked.

Example: a clean sheet of paper
Thesaurus: spotless, unsullied, unblemished, immaculate, scrubbed, sanitized, laundered; Antonym: soiled, stained, messy.
7. Neat and even.

Example: a clean cut
8. Simple and elegant.

Example: a ship with good clean lines
9. Clear of legal offences.

Example: a clean driving licence
10. Morally pure; innocent.

Thesaurus: guiltless, above-board, sinless, pure, wholesome, virtuous, unblemished.
11. Said of humour, etc: not offensive or obscene.
12. Fair.

Example: a clean fight
Thesaurus: fair, sportsmanlike, lawful, evenhanded, impartial.
13. slang
Not carrying drugs or offensive weapons.
14a. slang
Cured of drug addiction;
14b. slang
Said of athletes, etc: free from drugs or banned substances when tested.
15. Said of a wound: showing no signs of infection.
16. Said of nuclear installations, etc: not producing a harmful level of radioactivity.
17. Said of an aeroplane's landing gear: in a retracted position.
18. relig.
Said of certain animals: allowed for people to eat.
19. Said of musical sounds: pure and accurate.
20. Absolute; complete.

Example: make a clean break
Thesaurus: thorough, complete, entire, total, absolute, final, irreversible.

adverb

1. colloq
Completely.
Example: I clean forgot
2. Straight or directly; encountering no obstruction.

Example: sailed clean through the window

verb cleaned, cleaning

tr & intr
1. To make or become free from dirt.

Thesaurus: bathe, disinfect, wash, launder, scrub, scour, purify, rinse, disinfect; Antonym: soil.
tr & intr
2. To dry-clean or be dry-cleaned.
intr
3. To dust, polish floors and furniture, etc in a house or office, especially as a job.
4. To prepare (vegetables, etc) for cooking or eating by cutting away the inedible parts.

noun

1. An act of cleaning.
2. weightlifting.
A lift of the weight as far as the shoulders, with the legs and arms bent.

Derivative: cleanness
noun

Idiom: come clean

colloq
To admit or tell the truth about something that one has previously concealed or lied about.
Thesaurus: confess, own up, spill the beans (slang).

Idiom: have clean hands

colloq
To have no connection with the crime, etc in question.

Idiom: make a clean breast of something

To confess or admit to having done it, especially through feelings of guilt.
Thesaurus: admit, confess, reveal, expose.

Idiom: show a clean pair of heels

To run away, especially quickly.

Idiom: wipe the slate clean

See under slate¹.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon clæne.

Phrasal Verb: clean someone out

To deprive or cheat them of money.

Phrasal Verb: clean something out

To clean (a room or cupboard, etc) thoroughly.

Phrasal Verb: clean up

To clean a place thoroughly.To make a large profit.
Example: He cleaned up at the racetrack

Phrasal Verb: clean someone or something up

To make them or it clean; to get rid of a mess.

Phrasal Verb: clean up after someone

To clean up a mess, etc left by them.

---

slate¹
noun

1. geol.
A shiny dark grey metamorphic rock that is easily split into thin flat layers, formed by the compression of clays and shales, and used for roofing and flooring.
2. A roofing tile made of this.
3. formerly
A piece of this for writing on.
4. A record of credit given to a customer.

Example: put it on my slate
5. A dull grey colour.

verb

slated, slating
1. To cover (a roof) with slates.

adj

1. Made of slate.
2. Slate-coloured.

Derivative: slated
adj

Derivative: slating
noun

Derivative: slaty
adj

Idiom: have a slate loose

To be mentally deranged or mad.

Idiom: on the slate

On credit.

Idiom: wipe the slate clean

To enable a person to make a fresh start in a job, relationship, etc by ignoring past mistakes, acts of crime, etc. See also clean slate.

Etymology: 14c: from French esclate.