clean-cut

adjective

Having a neat, smart appearance

“a clean-cut young officer in a spotless uniform”

Meanings

adjectiveclean-cut (comparative more clean-cut, superlative most clean-cut)

comparative more clean-cut · superlative most clean-cut

  1. Having a neat, smart appearance

    a clean-cut young officer in a spotless uniform

    3 more examples

    I fell down / To my bended knees, / Saying, "I dig farmers, / Don't shoot me, please!" / He cocked his rifle / And began to shout, / "You're that travelin' salesman / That I have heard about." / I said, "No! No! No! / I'm a doctor and it's true, / I'm a clean-cut kid / And I been to college, too."

    1964, Bob Dylan, “Motorpsycho Nitemare”, in Another Side of Bob Dylan

    Of the fifty or so people present, most were clean-cut men in their twenties or thirties. Dalio sat down near the front of the room.

    2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN

    here’s something a little too perfect about Dan Stevens. Even when he’s not literally playing a Disney prince, he looks like one: poised, chiseled, giving off a clean-cut aura no matter his state of grooming.

    2021 September 16, A. A. Dowd, “Dan Stevens as a dashing robot lover? That computes”, in AV Club

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveneat and smart in appearance

adjectiveclear and distinct to the senses; easily perceptible

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Apparently from the idea of being smoothly shaped and thus the opposite of “rough” or “coarse”.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian ясен, определен
  • ясен (jasen)having a neat, smart appearance
  • определен (opredelen)having a neat, smart appearance
Finnish siisti, siistinnäköinen
  • siistihaving a neat, smart appearance
  • siistinnäköinenhaving a neat, smart appearance
German adrett
  • adretthaving a neat, smart appearance
Irish slachtmhar, dea-chóirithe
  • slachtmharhaving a neat, smart appearance
  • dea-chóirithehaving a neat, smart appearance
  • pointeáiltehaving a neat, smart appearance
Spanish nítido
  • nítidohaving a neat, smart appearance
Cite this entry
APA

clean-cut. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clean-cut

MLA

“clean-cut.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clean-cut. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clean-cut,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clean-cut.

Source: clean-cut on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.