clear-cut
Americanadjective
-
formed with or having clearly defined outlines.
a face with clear-cut features.
-
unambiguously clear; completely evident; definite.
His sale of secrets was a clear-cut example of treachery.
-
of or relating to a section of forest where all trees have been cut down for harvesting.
noun
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
definite; not vague
a clear-cut proposal
-
clearly outlined
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of clear-cut
First recorded in 1850–55
Vocabulary lists containing clear-cut
Obvious
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Obvious
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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:
Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust, said the argument for raising rates isn’t as clear-cut as the markets and many commentators believe, adding that the central bank has no easy options.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
So it’s not a clear-cut choice of: Do I use this or not?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The government appears to be less clear-cut on the issue.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
“The cases we finally choose to expose are the absolute worst of the worst—the ones with egregious, clear-cut misconduct,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
It was a good three miles away, and would require a portage over the highway, but Zeitoun was happy to have a clear-cut task.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
During the helicopter flight, we could see clear-cutting occurring within a couple of miles of the site that we were surveying and in roughly similar terrain.
From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2024
The gravel logging road was slow going, leading us into a scarred landscape of what was left behind from clear-cutting.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
A few years earlier, the Resnicks’ Justin Vineyards had been caught clear-cutting an oak forest near Paso Robles to make room for new grape plantings.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2024
And most ecologists regard degradation as the consequence of the type of large scale clear-cutting that is nearly the universal method of logging in Canada.
From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2024
The very terror of this clear-cutting sword-sweep, dividing us, bone from bone, may, nay! probably will, send us back to our gentle "lovers of humanity" who, "knowing everything pardon everything."
From Visions and Revisions A Book of Literary Devotions by John Cowper Powys
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.
