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

The scientists soon found out why this one bacterium was so successful in completely clearing out tumors. —New Atlas, 16 Dec. 2025

There's a 40% chance of rain with showers coming early in the night before clearing out later on. —Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 14 Dec. 2025

Fatty foods appear to push gut cells to overproduce serotonin, while simultaneously shutting down the system that normally clears out excess, the review found. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 8 Dec. 2025

Doing the job of clearing out the attic should be thought of as a start-to-finish project, even if that means going through one box every week rather than 10 boxes in a day but with a major mess left on your hands (or in your garage). —Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 7 Dec. 2025

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