English
clear
see also: Clear
Etymology

From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus.

Pronunciation
  • (RP, Australia) IPA: /klɪə(ɹ)/
  • (America, Canada) IPA: /klɪɹ/
Adjective

clear (comparative clearer, superlative clearest)

  1. Transparent in colour.
    as clear as crystal
  2. Bright; luminous; not dark or obscured.
    The windshield was clear and clean.
    Congress passed the President’s Clear Skies legislation.
  3. Free of obstacles.
    The driver had mistakenly thought the intersection was clear.
    The coast is clear.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:
      Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned, […] and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach.
  4. Without clouds.
    clear weather; a clear day
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:
      Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
  5. (meteorology) Of the sky, such that less than one eighth of its area is obscured by clouds.
  6. Free of ambiguity or doubt; easily understood.
    He gave clear instructions not to bother him at work.
    Do I make myself clear?
    I'm still not quite clear on what some of these words mean.
  7. Distinct, sharp, well-marked.
    Synonyms: conspicuous
  8. (figuratively) Free of guilt, or suspicion.
    a clear conscience
  9. (of a soup) Without a thickening ingredient.
  10. Possessing little or no perceptible stimulus.
    clear of texture; clear of odor
  11. (Scientology) Free from the influence of engrams; see Clear (Scientology).
    • 1971, Leonard Cohen, Famous Blue Raincoat:
      Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair. She said that you gave it to her that night that you planned to go clear. Did you ever go clear?
  12. Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating.
    a clear intellect; a clear head
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:
      Mother of Science, Now I feel thy Power
      Within me cleere, not onely to diſcerne
      Things in thir Cauſes, but to trace the wayes
      Of higheſt Agents
  13. Not clouded with passion; serene; cheerful.
    • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:
      with a countenance as clear / As friendship wears at feasts
  14. Easily or distinctly heard; audible.
    • c. 1708, Alexander Pope, Ode On St. Cecilia's Day:
      Hark! the numbers, soft and clear
      Gently steal upon the ear
  15. Unmixed; entirely pure.
    clear sand
  16. Without defects or blemishes, such as freckles or knots.
    a clear complexion; clear lumber
  17. Without diminution; in full; net.
    a clear profit
    • 1728, Jonathan Swift, Horace, Lib. 2, Sat. 6:
      I often wished that I had clear
      For life, six hundred pounds a year
  18. (of a railway signal) Showing a green aspect, allowing a train to proceed past it.
  19. (MLE) Good, the best.
    Nando's is clear.
  20. (MLE) Better than, superior to.
    Spurs are clear of Arsenal.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Adverb

clear (not comparable)

  1. All the way; entirely.
    I threw it clear across the river to the other side.
  2. Not near something or touching it.
    Stand clear of the rails, a train is coming.
  3. Free (or separate) from others.
  4. In a clear manner; plainly.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book XII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:
      Now clear I understand
      What oft my steadiest thoughts have searched in vain
Translations Translations Verb

clear (clears, present participle clearing; simple past and past participle cleared)

  1. (transitive) To remove obstructions, impediments or other unwanted items from.
    Police took two hours to clear the road.
    If you clear the table, I'll wash up.
    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC ↗:
      “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action.
      Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].
    • 1715–8, Matthew Prior, “Alma: or, The Progreſs of the Mind” in Poems on Several Occaſions (1741), canto III, [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bRXbEJbFfA8C&pg=PA297&dq=%22Many+knotty+points+there+are+Which+all+discuss,+but+few+can+clear%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DjuKUuq2A4aw7Qae94DQDQ&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Many%20knotty%20points%20there%20are%20Which%20all%20discuss%2C%20but%20few%20can%20clear%22&f=false p.297]:
      Faith, Dick, I muſt confeſs, ’tis true
      (But this is only Entre Nous)
      That many knotty Points there are,
      Which All diſcuſs, but Few can clear.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗:
      ‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared. […]’
  2. (transitive) To remove (items or material) so as to leave something unobstructed or open.
    Please clear all this stuff off the table.
    The loggers came and cleared the trees.
  3. (intransitive) To leave abruptly; to clear off or clear out.
    • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC ↗, part I, page 199 ↗:
      Then the whole population cleared into the forest, expecting all kinds of calamities to happen, while, on the other hand, the steamer Fresleven commanded left also in a bad panic, in charge of the engineer, I believe.
  4. (intransitive) To become free from obstruction or obscurement; to become transparent.
    When the road cleared we continued our journey.
    After a heavy rain, the sky cleared nicely for the evening.
    Shake the test tube well, and the liquid should slowly clear.
  5. (transitive) To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from (a matter); to clarify or resolve; to clear up.
    We need to clear this issue once and for all.
  6. (transitive) To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.
    The court cleared the man of murder.
    • 1713, Joseph Addison, Cato, a Tragedy, act III, scene v:
      How! Wouldst thou clear rebellion?
  7. (transitive) To pass without interference; to miss.
    The door just barely clears the table as it closes.
    The leaping horse easily cleared the hurdles.
  8. (transitive, activities such as jumping or throwing) To exceed a stated mark.
    She was the first female high jumper to clear two metres.
  9. (transitive, video games) To finish or complete (a stage, challenge, or game).
    I cleared the first level in 36 seconds.
  10. (intransitive) Of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.
    The check might not clear for a couple of days.
  11. (transitive, business) To earn a profit of; to net.
    He's been clearing seven thousand a week.
  12. (transitive) To approve or authorise for a particular purpose or action; to give clearance to.
    Air traffic control cleared the plane to land.
    The marketing department has cleared the press release for publication.
  13. (transitive) To obtain approval or authorisation in respect of.
    I've cleared the press release with the marketing department, so go ahead and publish it.
  14. (intransitive) To obtain a clearance.
    The steamer cleared for Liverpool today.
  15. (transitive) To obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.
  16. To disengage oneself from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.
    • 1613, Francis Bacon, The Eſſaies (second edition), essay 18: “Of Expences ↗”:
      Beſides, he that cleares at once will relapſe: for finding himſelfe out of ſtraights, he will reuert to his cuſtomes. But hee that cleareth by degrees, induceth an habite of frugality, and gaineth as well vpon his minde, as vpon his Eſtate.
  17. (transitive, intransitive, sports) To hit, kick, head, punch etc. (a ball, puck) away in order to defend one's goal.
    The goalkeeper rushed forward to clear the ball.
    A low cross came in, and Smith cleared.
  18. (transitive, computing) To reset or unset; to return to an empty state or to zero.
    to clear an array;  to clear a single bit (binary digit) in a value
  19. (transitive, computing) To style (an element within a document) so that it is not permitted to float at a given position.
  20. (transitive, firearms) To unload a firearm, or undergo an unloading procedure, in order to prevent negligent discharge; for safety reasons, to check whether one's firearm is loaded or unloaded.
    To prevent any shooting accidents, remember to clear your pistol and stay aware of your surroundings.
Synonyms
  • (clear a forest) stub
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

clear (plural clears)

  1. (carpentry) Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls.
    a room ten feet square in the clear
  2. (video games) The completion of a stage or challenge, or of the whole game.
    It took me weeks to achieve a one-credit clear (1CC).
  3. (Scientology) A person who is free from the influence of engrams.
    • 1985, Rodney Stark, William Sims Bainbridge, The Future of Religion, page 269:
      Today, clear status can be conferred only by high ranking ministers of the church, and clears are not presented for examination by outsiders.
Clear
Noun

clear (uncountable)

  1. (Scientology) An idea state of beingness free of unwanted influences.


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