You are reading the sentence, “He used to clean chimneys for a living,” and you’re not sure what “chimneys” means.
You find it in the dictionary and look through the definitions for the one that applies. It says “A flue for the smoke or gases from a fire.”
You’re not sure what “flue” means so you look that up: It says, “A channel or passage for smoke, air or gases of combustion.” That fits and makes sense, so you use it in some sentences until you have a clear concept of it.
“Flue” in this dictionary has other definitions, each of which you would clear and use in sentences.
Look up the derivation of the word “flue.”
Now go back to “chimney.” The definition, “A flue for the smoke or gases from a fire,” now makes sense, so you use it in sentences until you have a concept of it.
You then clear the other definitions. One dictionary has an obsolete definition and a geological definition. You would skip both of these, as they aren’t in common usage.
Now clear up the derivation of the word. One finds in the derivation that it originally came from the Greek word “kaminos,” which means “furnace.”
If the word had any synonym studies, usage notes or idioms, they would all be cleared too.
That would be the end of clearing “chimney.”
If you don’t know the context of the word, you should start with the first definition and clear all definitions, derivation, idioms, etc., as covered above.
If you find yourself spending a lot of time clearing words within definitions of words, you should get a simpler dictionary. A good dictionary will enable you to clear a word without having to look up a lot of other ones in the process.
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