Word.ws English Dictionary

clear the decks

clear the decks verb: to remove, or fasten, all loose material, or partitions prior to a naval engagement.

Verb

clear the decks (third-person singular simple present clears the decks, present participle clearing the decks, simple past and past participle cleared the decks)

  1. To remove, or fasten, all loose material, or partitions prior to a naval engagement.
  2. (broadly, figuratively) To prepare for action.

Forms of clear the decks

third-person singular presentclears the decks
present participleclearing the decks
past participlecleared the decks
pastcleared the decks

Questions about clear the decks

What does clear the decks mean?
Clear the decks means to remove, or fasten, all loose material, or partitions prior to a naval engagement.
What part of speech is clear the decks?
Clear the decks is a verb.
What is the past tense of clear the decks?
The past tense of clear the decks is cleared the decks.

Words near clear the decks in the dictionary

  1. clear sailing
  2. Clear Script
  3. clear someone's name
  4. clear stuff
  5. clear the air
  6. clear the decks
  7. clear the ground
  8. clear the market
  9. clear the neighborhood
  10. clear the table
  11. clear the way

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: clear the decks (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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