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💬 To explain 🌤️ To become sunny ✅ To finish tasks
to clear up

to clear up

51 2.0
To become clear after cloudy or rainy weather
  • phrasal verb
  • /klɪr ʌp/
translation icon : despejarse
  • If we're lucky, it will clear up on its own.
  • weather clears up
  • going to clear up
  • starting to clear up

OK, now when I say it clears up, it actually clears up.

Examples

  • Here in the heart of Nashville country, it's 57 degrees with partly cloudy skies, clearing up this afternoon to let the sun shine through.

    Songwriter (1984)

  • The weather report predicts that it will clear up later, bringing a pleasant afternoon.

  • We had some this morning, but it has cleared up now and is sunny this afternoon.

    Blog text (29)

  • Looks like rain; it won't clear up until early morning.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • After a week of dismal fog, the sky seemed to be clearing up.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • After a cloudy morning, the sky finally cleared up by noon, allowing us to enjoy the sunshine.

  • After several days of rain, the forecast says it will clear up and be sunny this weekend.

Synonyms

to clear
vsto clear up
74 1.0

To make water or air free from harmful substances

is specifically about weather becoming free of clouds after rain or cloudiness
to brighten
vsto clear up
5 2.1

To become less cloudy with more light

is a weather change to being free of clouds after cloudiness or rain

Antonyms

to overcast
3.5

To cover the sky with clouds and make it look dark

How Clear

to clear up
51 2.0
to brighten up
  • Informal
17 2.7
to ease off
9 4.0
to wash out
  • UK
1 4.4

Surface Forms

clear up infinitive
cleared up past
cleared up past participle
clearing up present participle
clears up third person singular

Morphology

clear + up

The weather sense 'to become clear' is directly derivable from 'clear' (free of clouds or obstruction) combined with the particle 'up' signaling change or completion; this composition follows a common English verb+particle pattern. Cross-linguistic parallels (e.g., Spanish despejarse, French s'éclaircir) and the parallel sense 'clear up' = 'improve/become clear' make the meaning accessible to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

The verb clear up for weather comes from clouds moving away: the sky becomes clear and the clouds move up, so the sun and blue sky appear. That is why clear up means 'become bright' or 'stop being cloudy'.