clearing
Americannoun
-
clearings
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of clearing
First recorded in 1350–1400, clearing is from the Middle English word clering. See clear, -ing 1
Explanation
A clearing is an area that's open, with no trees, especially one in the middle of the woods or that's been cleared for planting. A clearing at the edge of the forest is a nice place to build a cabin. The noun clearing is a good way to describe an open place in the midst of dense growth, like a field or a glade in a forest. Some clearings are created deliberately for cultivating crops or building houses, while others come naturally from fires or droughts. This word first appeared in American English around 1818.
Vocabulary lists containing clearing
Of Mice and Men
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The Wild Robot
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King and the Dragonflies
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Musk has already begun clearing land in the area, prompting some residents to make difficult decisions about whether they’ll stay or go.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
British team-mate Jade O'Dowda is close behind, in 12th, after following up a 13.21-second run in the 100m hurdles by clearing 1.71m in the high jump.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The frantic search for survivors has long since yielded to the grim spectacle of excavators clearing ruins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
All three approaches had been tested individually before, but none had succeeded in permanently clearing the virus.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
Suddenly, a streak of grey sped across the clearing and crashed into him.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
But butterflies whose lifecycles are tied to specific habitats, such as woodland clearings or chalk grasslands, are struggling.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
More federally mandated encampment clearings followed in the coming weeks, even as the city ramped up its own schedule of standard encampment clearings.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025
As asylum seekers and organizers braced for the clearing, the appointed hour came and went with no police presence or trucks to haul garbage, as homeless encampment clearings usually have.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
Just beyond the southern shore there are old timber-company clearings which could someday be converted into trails that hikers can use to reach the adjacent Tahoe National Forest.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2024
The forest clearings made by African farmers also provide ideal breeding habitats for malaria-transmitting mosquitoes.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
