clearance
Americannoun
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the act of clearing.
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the distance between two objects; an amount of clear space.
The bridge allowed a clearance of 37 feet at mean high water.
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a formal authorization permitting access to classified information, documents, etc.
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Also called clearance sale. the disposal of merchandise at reduced prices to make room for new goods.
He bought the coat for half price at a clearance.
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a clear space; a clearing.
The house stood in a clearance among the trees.
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Banking. an exchange of checks and other commercial paper drawn on members of a clearinghouse, usually effected at a daily meeting of the members.
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Machinery. a space between two moving parts, left to avoid clashing or to permit relatively free motion.
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the angle between a face of a cutting tool, as a lathe tool, and the work.
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Nautical.
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the clearing of a ship at a port.
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Also called clearance papers. the official papers certifying this.
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Medicine/Medical. a test of the excretory function of the kidneys based on the volume of blood that is cleared of a specific substance per minute by renal excretion.
noun
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the process or an instance of clearing
slum clearance
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( as modifier )
a clearance order
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space between two parts in motion or in relative motion
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permission for an aircraft, ship, passengers, etc, to proceed
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official permission to have access to secret information, projects, areas, etc
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banking the exchange of commercial documents drawn on the members of a clearing house
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the disposal of merchandise at reduced prices
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( as modifier )
a clearance sale
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sport
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the act of hitting or kicking a ball out of the defensive area, as in football
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an instance of this
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the act of clearing an area of land of its inhabitants by mass eviction See Highland Clearances
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dentistry the extraction of all of a person's teeth
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a less common word for clearing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of clearance
Vocabulary lists containing clearance
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Clearance sales will begin in mid-January and run for about 10 weeks, a Macy’s spokesperson said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026
The poster presentation "Ligand-Targeted Immunotherapy for the Rapid Clearance of Influenza Infections" disclosed data about EV25.
From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024
Svyrydenko said Ukraine would receive by the end of the year 10 demining machines from Croatia's DOK-ING engineering firm and another 10 from the Swiss-based Global Clearance Solutions.
From Reuters • Jul. 26, 2023
Grusch's account of the non-human evidence was confirmed by Jonathan Grey, a current US intelligence official at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center who holds Top-Secret Clearance.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2023
This was nothing more nor less than a Clearance Sale.
From The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch by Reed, Talbot Baines
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
