spring-clean

See also: spring clean

English

Etymology

Back-formation from spring-cleaning.

Verb

spring-clean (third-person singular simple present spring-cleans, present participle spring-cleaning, simple past and past participle spring-cleaned)

1. (transitive) To carry out spring-cleaning on (a room, a house, etc).
   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 1:

     The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.

2. (intransitive) To engage in spring-cleaning.

Derived terms

• spring-cleaner