overclean

1 of 2

verb

over·​clean ˌō-vər-ˈklēn 

overcleaned; overcleaning

transitive verb

: to clean (something) too much

Overcleaning gold jewelry may cause unnecessary wear.

We are victims of our own (carefully nurtured by advertising) need to overclean everything in our lives. We do our children no favours whatsoever by subjecting them to a sterile environment in the house only to send their unprepared immune systems out into a grubby, germy world.

—Lee Simpson

overclean

2 of 2

adjective

: excessively clean

An overclean fish tank lacks important components of a natural ecosystem.

… the windows were not overclean. In honest truth, it must be admitted that they were positively dirty.

—William Alexander Hammond

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1815, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1748, in the meaning defined above