noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English clering, from gerund of cleren to clear
1. : the act or process of making or becoming clear
2. : a tract of land cleared of wood and brush (as for cultivation)
3.
a. : a method adopted by banks and bankers for making an exchange of checks and bills held by each against the others in which checks deposited in the banks of a particular area are set off against each other with cash settlement only of the balances due after the clearing
b. : a similar method adopted by railroads and by buyers and sellers of merchandise for adjusting their accounts with each other ; also : the machinery or procedure established under this method
c. clearings plural : the gross amount of balances so adjusted
4.
a. : natural pruning
b. : the cutting of all mature trees at one time
5. : the collection, classification, and distribution of information or other matter requiring wide distribution
an agency for the clearing of reconstruction projects and plans
a clearing center for management ideas