- present participle of clear.
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:
In Nuwakot, AFP photographers on Tuesday saw people scouring through mud into the rubble of their homes for usable items, some clearing away dirt and stringing up plastic sheeting for shelter in the ruins.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
If Iran manages to lay more mines, then U.S. forces are left with the hard task of locating and clearing them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The US said it had finished clearing all mines from the strait's main shipping lane earlier this month.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
By clearing out those cells, the treatment may allow the immune system to reset.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Akira and Sue found another small clearing where the smoke wasn’t as thick and there wasn’t any fire.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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
He also asked his crew to be on the lookout for clearings - free from trees and bushes - just in case one was needed.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 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
In the twenties and thirties the loggers had come, and they stripped the canyons below the rim and cut great clearings on the plateau slopes.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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.
