all clear
- the signal that an air raid or other danger is over.
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Origin of all clear
First recorded in 1915–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for all-clear
Contemporary Examples
These all-clear fliers are filtered through special lines for expediency.
After a few minutes, the soldier gave the all-clear and they kept driving.
A co-worker locked the door, and a few more tense minutes passed before the “all-clear” came.
And even the blogs covering this seismic event moment by moment were reluctant to sound the all-clear.
Historical Examples
He remembered that Webster had promised to come and knock an all-clear signal on the door.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
"Think o' when the all-clear bugle sounds in Fulham," responded Bindle.
Adventures of BindleHerbert George Jenkins
The bugles sounded All-clear in many keys all round the ear's horizon; their sound matched the waning moonlight.
Living AloneStella Benson
When the all-clear signal sounded inside the Shed, nobody paid any attention.
Space PlatformMurray Leinster
all clear
- a signal, usually a siren, indicating that some danger, such as an air raid, is over
- an indication that obstacles are no longer present; permission to proceedhe received the all clear on the plan
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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