clear up
Britishverb
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(tr) to explain or solve (a mystery, misunderstanding, etc)
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to put (a place or thing that is disordered) in order
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(intr) (of the weather) to become brighter
noun
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Clarify, explain, solve, as in Let's try to clear up this misunderstanding . [Late 1600s]
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Become clear, as in After the storm, it cleared up very quickly . [Early 1600s]
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Return something to a normal condition, cure, as in This new salve will clear up your rash .
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.
City lawyers say the Mamdani administration followed the law and is working to clear up any confusion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Together, those lines of evidence allowed the team to connect historical species names with the correct evolutionary lineages and clear up taxonomic confusion that had persisted for decades.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
We're hoping that that will clear up shortly.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
People have successfully done this to correct billing mistakes and clear up errors, Kelmar said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
He wore a worn leather jacket and black boots that came clear up to his knees.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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.
