clearing out 1 of 2

noun

as in withdrawal

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clearing out

2 of 2

verb

present participle of clear out
1
as in dispersing
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart police used tear gas to clear out the demonstrators

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in escaping
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation everyone cleared out as soon as the fire alarm began sounding

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3
as in departing
to leave a place often for another the lunch crowd usually clears out by 2:00 p.m. at the latest

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of clearing out
Verb
His team began clearing out an informal dump site, eventually transforming it into a community garden. — Ryan Lenora Brown, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Aug. 2026 The Call Her Daddy host, who is pregnant with her first child, has been clearing out other expectant moms' baby registries on social media. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026 Residents have begun clearing out their homes and dragging debris to the end of their driveways as Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office personnel remain in the area, assessing the damage. — Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 17 Aug. 2026 Parents showed up at Walmart in Hollywood, loading up on school supplies and clearing out shelves ahead of the start of school this week. — Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026 High pressure limits winds near the surface, which prevents the smoke from clearing out. — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026 The company must also sanitize the freezer within seven days of clearing out remaining food waste. — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026 Penny had seen ads for his company, which specializes in working with senior citizens overwhelmed by the downsizing process and the prospect of clearing out and fixing up their houses to sell. — Marni Jameson, Arkansas Online, 24 July 2026 Namely, according to the poster, clearing out a homeless encampment near the QuickTrip at 81st and State streets. — Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 10 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clearing out
  1. withdrawal
  2. dispersing
  3. escaping
  4. departing
  5. retirement
  6. fleeing
  7. exiting
  8. egress
Noun
  • That’s in addition to the earlier dismantling of USAID (which trained social mobilizers for surveillance and active case finding) and the withdrawal from the WHO (whose technical expertise informed laboratory strengthening and data systems).
    — Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Putting This Research Into Action Fourteen years and 76,000 people show that the withdrawal effect in men is real and self-reinforcing.
    — Kevin Kruse, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of withdrawal
Verb
  • Open clusters are young clusters of stars that were born together and are now gradually dispersing, and Auriga’s open clusters are some of the best and brightest of their kind in the night sky.
    — Gemma Lavender, Space.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The brave new world of synthetic biology, in other words, is radically democratizing and dispersing access to the tools used to make bioweapons.
    — Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of dispersing
Verb
  • Wars come and go, Napoleon rises and falls and these two men remain prisoners of a beef neither seems capable of escaping.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Jonathan Bowlan allowed a single and a walk in the eighth before escaping with help from Brandon Marsh’s catch of a foul pop amid the fans in left field.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of escaping
Verb
  • As boards sought more experienced directors, just 10% of the incoming class were aged 50 or under, while half of departing directors were in their 50s.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • While there will be no season 6 for Outer Banks, and the remaining cast is departing, there has been a prequel series, Kildare, in the works for a while.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of departing
Noun
  • But flash forward 10 years and Klein is now debt-free, her retirement account is flush and her credit score is pristine.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The fourth pays through a smaller retirement check, because the money to keep it whole would have to come from more of the same borrowing.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of retirement
Verb
  • On top of that, the Iranian airspace was closed to all flights during the bombings and Iranians were fleeing the country.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Jacobo stopped the attack and approached Overstreet before fleeing to his car, prosecutors said.
    — City News Service, Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • But Charter executives have discussed exiting that relationship, which guarantees the team about $200 million a year in revenue, according to people familiar with the company’s plans who were not authorized to comment.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Comedy development exec Andy Weil is exiting Netflix after 11 years to join Amazon as its new head of comedy.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of exiting
Noun
  • Crossover also adds a new off-road-ready electric step for easier ingress and egress.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Special traffic patterns will be installed along Warner Street, Alluvion Street, Worcester Street, and Bayard Street for egress near the end of the concerts.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of egress

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clearing off
clearing out
clearings
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Cite this Entry

“Clearing out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clearing%20out. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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