preclear
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to authorize or approve (someone or something) in advance.
Programs to preclear business travelers provide them with a variety of options for quick passage across the border.
-
to obtain advance authorization or approval for (something).
The Voting Rights Act required some states to preclear their redistricting maps with the Justice Department.
Etymology
Origin of preclear
First recorded in 1945–50; pre- ( def. ) + clear ( def. )
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.
Provider databases often contain errors, and you would need to preclear your choices with your key doctors, Mantell advised.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 26, 2025
Holder, Arizona tried to preclear the ballot collection ban at issue in Brnovich.
From Washington Post • Jul. 9, 2021
“It does show,” Professor Hasen said of Judge Granade’s decision, “that there can still be a role for the Justice Department to preclear voting changes.”
From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2014
Based on those successes, Congress renewed Section 4’s “coverage formula”—the provision that determines which jurisdictions have to preclear changes and which don’t—again and again.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2013
That provision requires officials in the covered states to "preclear" changes they want to make "with respect to voting rights" with the U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
