How to Use cleanly in a Sentence

cleanly

adverb
  • A sharp knife will cut through the skin of a tomato cleanly.
  • This fuel burns more cleanly than other fuels.
  • This will shock the egg, which helps the shell peel off more cleanly.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2024
  • And the next step was fielding those punts cleanly.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The boy reached over a railing and snagged the ball cleanly.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The ribs were tender with a good chew, and pulled cleanly off the bone.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Muncy fielded it cleanly and threw to first, but the ball sailed on him.
    — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2022
  • The bun provides an easy grip for a veil’s comb to be cleanly tucked away.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2026
  • It cannot be cleanly transferred.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
  • Judge fielded it cleanly and threw out Massey at the plate.
    — CBS News, 27 May 2026
  • It's tied, in large part, to where the money is held and how cleanly it can be traced.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 3 June 2026
  • The plan doesn’t slot cleanly into Boise code.
    — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Wealth tied to a single engine does not move cleanly.
    — Anatoly Iofe, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
  • Hops and malts are balanced, and the latter comes through cleanly.
    — cleveland, 3 Apr. 2022
  • And somehow, not one of them was handled cleanly.
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • When rinsing, work from top to down so dirt and cleaner flow away cleanly.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Your knife should always be sharp enough to slice through a soft, ripe tomato cleanly.
    — Marcus Samuelsson, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2022
  • Crystals will flake off cleanly, while mold will smear or leave a residue behind.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 5 Dec. 2025
  • De La Salle couldn’t field the ball cleanly and the throw to first base went high.
    — Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
  • Opt-outs weren't always making it through cleanly.
    — Tony Gonzalez, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
  • None of these fit as cleanly into a slide as a follower count does.
    — Rhea Karo, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
  • Javier Báez bounced a grounder back to Doval, who failed to pick up the ball cleanly.
    — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 24 Aug. 2022
  • Spin the wheel to the left and keep moving to straighten out your car and put it cleanly in the space.
    — Robert Klose, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 July 2022
  • Gentle focus helps your ideas land cleanly.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026
  • This will allow the masa to settle so the tamales will cleanly release from the husk.
    — Pati Jinich, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2022
  • With half of the husk and silks in each hand, use a firm grip to cleanly pull the husk and silks down the length of the corn.
    — Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2025
  • The effect allows the hair to be pulled back while the fringe sits cleanly forward.
    — Hannah Coates, Vogue, 29 Dec. 2025
  • When rinsing, work from top to down to remove dirt and cleaner cleanly.
    — Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Sasaki has now cleanly saved the first two games of the series in his new role as closer.
    — Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Gavin Sheets hit a grounder to first that Torkelson couldn’t cleanly field.
    — Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cleanly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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