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Definition of 'clear up'

Word Frequency

clear up

1. phrasal verb
When you clear up or clear a place up, you tidy things and put them away.
After breakfast they played while I cleared up. [VERB PARTICLE]
I cleared up my room. [VERB PARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
2. phrasal verb
To clear up a problem, misunderstanding, or mystery means to settle it or find a satisfactory explanation for it.
There should be someone to whom you can turn for any advice or to clear up any problems. [VERB PARTICLE noun (not pronoun)]
During dinner the confusion was cleared up: they had mistaken me for Kenny. [be VERB-ed PARTICLE]
[Also V n P, V P n]
3.  See also clear-up
4. phrasal verb
To clear up a medical problem, infection, or disease means to cure it or get rid of it. If a medical problem clears up, it goes away.
Antibiotics should be used to clear up the infection. [VERB PARTICLE noun]
Acne often clears up after the first three months of pregnancy. [VERB PARTICLE]
[Also VERB noun PARTICLE]
5. phrasal verb
When the weather clears up, it stops raining or being cloudy.
It all depends on the weather clearing up. [VERB PARTICLE]
More Synonyms of clear up
clear
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

clear-up

adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
The clear-up rate for a crime or in an area is the percentage of criminals caught by the police, compared to the total number of crimes reported.
[British]
The clear-up rate for murders remains high.
The Metropolitan Police say clear-up figures were improved.
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

clear up in British

verb (adverb)
1. (transitive)
to explain or solve (a mystery, misunderstanding, etc)
2. 
to put (a place or thing that is disordered) in order
3. (intransitive)
(of the weather) to become brighter
noun clear-up (ˈklɪərˌʌp )
4. 
the act or an instance of clearing up
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word Frequency

clear up in American

1. 
to make or become clear
2. 
to make orderly
3. 
to become unclouded, sunny, etc. after being cloudy or stormy
4. 
to explain
5. 
to cure or become cured
this will clear up your cold
clear
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Example sentences containing 'clear up'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
You can talk to the family in a way that clears up money misunderstandings. The Sun (2009)Your skill in clearing up the misunderstandings that shadow a family relationship are important. The Sun (2007)We have to clear up the terrible mess he left behind. The Sun (2010)My ex just leaves an emotional mess for others to clear up. The Sun (2010)You can clear up misunderstandings, soothe emotions and ensure jealousy plays no part in family relationships. The Sun (2014)

Trends of 'clear up'

Used Occasionally. clear up is one of the 30000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

View usage for:

Translations for 'clear up'

British English: clear up /klɪə ʌp/ VERB
When you clear up, or when you clear a place up, you tidy a place and put things away.
I cleared up my room.
  • American English: clear up
  • Arabic: يُفْسِحُ
  • Brazilian Portuguese: arrumar
  • Chinese: 整理
  • Croatian: počistiti
  • Czech: uklidit
  • Danish: bringe orden i
  • Dutch: opruimen
  • European Spanish: ordenar escampar
  • Finnish: järjestää
  • French: ranger
  • German: aufräumen
  • Greek: τακτοποιώ
  • Italian: rassettare
  • Japanese: 片付ける
  • Korean: 정돈하다
  • Norwegian: ordne
  • Polish: zrobić porządek
  • European Portuguese: arrumar
  • Romanian: a face ordine
  • Russian: прибирать
  • Spanish: ordenar
  • Swedish: städa
  • Thai: ทำความสะอาดจนหมด
  • Turkish: toplamak ortalığı
  • Ukrainian: Прибирати
  • Vietnamese: dọn dẹp

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Nearby words of 'clear up'

  • clear the air
  • clear the decks
  • clear the way/open the way/prepare the way
  • clear up
  • clear-cut
  • clear-eyed
  • clear-fell

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'C'

Related Terms of 'clear up'

  • clear-up rate

Source

Definition of clear up from the Collins English Dictionary

Adverbs and adverbials

When you want to add information about how, when, where, or to what extent something has happened, you can use an adverbial. Many adverbials are members of the group of words called adverbs, but adv...
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