Phrase guide

clean as a hound's tooth

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Very clean.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Qualifier: simile

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: clean as a new penny, clean as a whistle, clean, clean as a bean, clean as a hound's tooth, clean as a new pin, immaculate, pristine, spick-and-span, spotless, squeaky clean, stainless, unsoiled, unsullied

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Very innocent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Qualifier: simile

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: clean-handed, clean as a whistle, blameless, clean, clean as a hound's tooth, clear, dovelike, guiltless, innocent, innocent as the babe unborn, innocent as the child unborn, irreprehensible, nonblameworthy, not guilty, offenseless, pure, righteous, sackless, sinless, unblameable, unblameworthy, uncalculating, unguilty

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: putipuhdas — very clean, very innocent
  • Finnish: puhdas kuin pulmunen — very clean, very innocent
  • French: propre comme un sou neuf — very clean, very innocent
  • French: blanc comme neige — very clean, very innocent
  • Polish: czysty jak łza — very clean, very innocent