crystal-clear
Americanadjective
Usage
What does crystal-clear mean? Crystal-clear literally means completely clear—often meaning you can see right through it. Crystal is a type of mineral or glass that’s clear—it resembles ice. When crystal-clear is used in this way, it often describes things like perfectly clear water. But it can also describe things that have perfect clarity—a TV might be said to have a crystal-clear picture, for example. Even things that aren’t visual might be said to be crystal-clear in this way, as in These headphones provide crystal-clear sound. Crystal-clear can also be used figuratively to mean extremely easy to understand—meaning there’s nothing at all confusing about it. This sense of the word is often used to describe things like instructions or a piece of writing. Crystal-clear can be used with or without a hyphen. It’s often used with a hyphen when it comes before the thing it describes, as in crystal-clear glass, and without a hyphen when it follows the thing it describes, as in the glass was crystal clear. The phrase clear as crystal means the same thing as both senses of crystal-clear. A close synonym for both senses of the word is transparent. Example: These crystal-clear cleaning instructions will give you crystal-clear windows in no time!
Etymology
Origin of crystal-clear
First recorded in 1510–20
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.
“American Flag Blue” paint would fill inbound passengers to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport with patriotic palpitations as they looked outside their windows through the clean, crystal-clear water.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
I waded into the crystal-clear water, and felt a strong current pull me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
Washington state’s unemployment insurance system has a crystal-clear mission: to provide a temporary income to workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2024
This summer the Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologised for his country's historic involvement in the slave trade and said in terms of stopping slavery, his ancestors had shown a "crystal-clear lack of action".
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2023
He flinched as his fingers moved closer, but the liquid within the crystal-clear sword just swirled around and around, not reacting to him at all.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
