clear out

verb

cleared out; clearing out; clears out

intransitive verb

: depart

transitive verb

: to drive out or away usually forcibly

Synonyms of clear out

• disperse

Examples of clear out in a Sentence

police used tear gas to clear out the demonstrators

everyone cleared out as soon as the fire alarm began sounding

Recent Examples on the Web

Early in the morning on May 6, police in riot gear encircled the encampment and ordered everyone to clear out, arresting 64 individuals who stayed. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2026

The appointment of a new interim chancellor should be accompanied by broad authority to clear out the wreckage. —Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2026

Cloud cover, however, will hang around for most of the day Saturday before finally clearing out Saturday night. —Grant Gilmore, CBS News, 2 May 2026

For example, the Associated Press reported that Chinese online shopping platforms were preventing customers from purchasing drones for delivery to Beijing addresses as of late April, while some consumer electronics stores were attempting to clear out their drone stocks by the deadline. —Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for clear out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

clear out

verb

1

: to go or run away often suddenly or secretly

a horse broke loose and cleared out

cleared out without paying me back

2

: to drive out or away usually with force

police cleared out the demonstrators