clearinghouse

noun

clear·​ing·​house ˈklir-iŋ-ˌhau̇s 

1

: an establishment maintained by banks for settling mutual claims and accounts

2

: a central agency for the collection, classification, and distribution especially of information

broadly : an informal channel for distributing information or assistance

Examples of clearinghouse in a Sentence

an online clearinghouse for information on museums around the world

Recent Examples on the Web

Congress is especially ill suited because various committees and subcommittees currently take on small areas of a Silicon Valley foreign policy without one central clearinghouse providing consistency. —Ernest J. Wilson Iii, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2012

Instead, companies should use a single platform as a clearinghouse and repository for all crucial data. 3. Find hidden data. —Simon Dae Oong Kim, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Many housing and code violation cases originate in local mayor’s courts, and a county-wide housing court would need buy-in from all of these local governments to agree to use the county docket as a clearinghouse for these cases. —Sharon Coolidge, The Enquirer, 27 Oct. 2024

Tanton also published and, for many years, edited The Social Contract, a magazine that served as a clearinghouse for his ideas. —Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

clearinghouse

noun

clear·​ing·​house -ˌhau̇s 

1

: an institution run by banks for the exchanging of checks and claims

2

: a central agency for collecting and giving out information

Legal Definition

clearinghouse

noun

clear·​ing·​house ˈklir-iŋ-ˌhau̇s 

: an institution that arranges for payment of checks owed by one bank to another