clean off
Completely off; all the way removed.
Updated September 21, 2026
clean off pronunciation
/kleen AWF/
Meaning
Clean here means entirely, not soap-and-water clean. Pair it with off and you get total separation: knocked, blown, or yanked all the way clear. Same intensifier shows up in talk like "clean through" or "clean to the top of the hill."
How folks use it
- “That wind tore the tin roof clean off the shed.”
- “He knocked my ball cap clean off my head.”
Origin and etymology
Clean as an adverb for "completely" is older English and Scots speech that settlers carried into Appalachia and the rural South. It stuck hard as a verb intensifier ("clean off," "clean through") while other regions often drop the clean and just say off.
Frequently asked questions
Does clean off mean washed off?
Not in this sense. Here clean means completely. You can still wash something clean, but "knocked it clean off" is about force, not soap.