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
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Etymology
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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
Smith, to pass your vessel without Custom Clearance.
From Between the Lines Secret Service Stories Told Fifty Years After by Smith, Henry Bascom
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.
