clearing

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noun clear·ing \ ˈklir-iŋ \

Definition of clearing

1 :the act or process of making or becoming clear

2 :a tract of land cleared of wood and brush

3 :the settlement of accounts or exchange of financial instruments especially between banks

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Examples of clearing in a Sentence

the clearing of the table
the clearing of wood and brush from part of the forest
We found a clearing in the forest.

Recent Examples of clearing from the Web

The group’s primary focus is how operational issues such as trading, clearing, and settlement would be affected should debt payments get delayed.

— liz mccormick, Bloomberg.com, "Wall Street Is Already Preparing Its Debt-Limit War Room," 30 Aug. 2017
Keivan Berges enjoyed a four-RBI game, hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning and delivering a bases-clearing, three-run double off reliever Andrew Utterback in the fifth.

— enquirer, Cincinnati.com, "Freedom could clinch division this weekend," 23 Aug. 2017
Building homes in forest clearings, a common practice in Brazil, is especially risky.

— sam kean, Science | AAAS, "When will yellow fever strike Brazil again? Monkeys and mosquitoes hold clues," 17 Aug. 2017
From the clearing where we’d laid out our tents and camp pads, the opposite bank of the river was barely perceptible except for a faint Etch-a-Sketch panorama of sandstone buttes and towers.

— jim buchta, chicagotribune.com, "Call of the Colorado River leads to a family pilgrimage," 11 Aug. 2017
A day prior to the bombing, schoolgirls in Hiroshima were put to work clearing fire lanes by the city, which feared the U.S. would drop firebombs.

— eric singer, Teen Vogue, "The Story of 25 Hiroshima Bombing Survivors You Should Know," 6 Aug. 2017
The family googled William Land Service and the first business to pop up was a land clearing business in North Alabama.

— lucy berry, AL.com, "Alabama company in the spotlight after Italian sausage dropped on Florida home," 19 July 2017
Yukon Territory fire spokesman George Maratos says fire crews have shored up protections around the site, including protective burning and clearing brush and debris.

— justin carissimo, CBS News, "Calif. wildfires force thousands to evacuate homes," 10 July 2017
The detail due to the clearing allowed them to see individual cells in the tissue of various organs, including brain, lungs, liver, and intestines.

— nathan hurst, Smithsonian, "Transparent Mice Let Researchers See Cancer Spread in Real Time," 6 July 2017

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