Phrasal verbs with clear

When you think of clear, imagine making something empty, clean, or easy to see through. This basic idea runs through all the phrasal verbs with this base verb, though the particles change exactly what kind of clearing happens.

Some combinations focus on physical tidying. You clear away the dishes after dinner, clear up your messy desk, or clear out an old cupboard full of junk. These all involve removing things to make a space neat and organised. The particles show different aspects – away suggests taking things to somewhere else, up emphasises the final tidy result, and out means emptying completely.

Other meanings connect to solving problems or making situations clearer. When you clear up a misunderstanding, you're removing confusion just like you'd remove clutter from a room. Similarly, when stormy weather clears up, the clouds disappear and everything becomes bright and visible again.

Then there's the idea of leaving quickly, which appears in clear off and clear out. Here, you're clearing yourself away from a place – usually because you want to avoid trouble or someone has told you to go. Both are quite informal and often sound a bit rude, so be careful when you use them.

The particle always adds something important to the basic meaning, so pay attention to these small but powerful words.