Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

clearer

clear·er \ ˈklir-ər \
Updated on: 2 Mar 2018
See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

Definition of clearer

  • comparative form of the adjective clear
  • a clearer understanding
  • a clearer explanation
  • … until we have a clearer idea what we are about, we will remain on Matthew Arnold's darkling plain where, swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, ignorant armies clash by night.
  • —Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
2

clearer

noun

Definition of clearer

: a person or thing that clears or clears away something
  • Cromwell reminds sidewalk clearers that they can't fling, blow or plow snow into city streets.
  • —Mike Ferguson
  • Clearers manually search with a metal detector and a pointed stick and, like archaeologists on a dig, extract the mines with small digging implements.
  • —Maureen Rouhi
  • Goldsmith tells us, that when a lovely woman stoops to folly, she has nothing to do but to die; and when she stoops to be disagreeable, it is equally to be recommended as a clearer of ill-fame.
  • —Jane Austen

Recent Examples of clearer from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clearer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of clearer

1599

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year
NEW! Time Traveler

Learn More about clearer

  1. Nglish: Translation of clearer for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of clearer for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up clearer? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

mollycoddle

play

to treat with excessive attention

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. symbiote 'an organism living in symbiosis'

  2. charlatan 'faker or fraud'

  3. lowlife 'a person of low moral character'

  4. kakistocracy 'government by the worst people'

  5. slimeball 'a morally repulsive or odious person'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

clearer

Test Your Vocabulary

Odd Habits and Quirks Quiz

  • image1926873504
  • Which of the following best describes an easily irritated person?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Add Diction

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image278155226
All the Hits

8 obscure words for bodily harm

alt-5adf93a49b0b2
The Fossil Encased in "Case In Point"

"In point" only lives in this phrase.

alt-5adf5d017e6bf
‘Sleight’ or ‘Slight’ of Hand?

Watch closely and be amazed.

alt-5ade0f1ca7a0c
'Complement' vs. 'Compliment'

The distinction is clear (now).

Ask the Editors

image1760257654
2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

video-literally
Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her
Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

image1926873504
Odd Habits and Quirks Quiz

Test your knowledge of strange human behaviors.

Take the quiz
cats-on-impossible-timber
More Confusing Words—Quiz

How many of these commonly confused words do you know?

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game