clears

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of clear.

   The fog clears over the valley by midmorning.

   A careful editor clears the manuscript of errors before publication.

   Note

   Only a singular third-person subject takes the -s: the fog clears, but the clouds clear. The form serves both sides of the verb, transitive (she clears the table, the inquiry clears him of suspicion) and intransitive (the sky clears). It also keeps its particle in phrasal uses: it clears up a doubt, or clears off in a hurry. Do not confuse it with the coarse milling flour, a noun spelled the same way.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   A comparatively strong and coarse grade of flour that has been sifted only once.

   Many rustic bread recipes call for clears rather than refined white flour.

   The mill sells clears to bakeries that want a sturdier crumb.

   Note

   Flour milling names its grades, and this one is a mass noun that only looks plural: a baker buys clears, never a clear or three clears. It turns up beside patent, another grade name, and the two are often combined rather than kept apart. Patent and clears milled from soft wheat, for instance, can be blended into pastry flour.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2