American Heritage Dictionary Entry: clear HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com clear (klîr) Share: Tweet adj. clear·er, clear·est 1. Free from clouds, mist, or haze: a clear day. 2. Not obscured or darkened; bright: clear daylight; a clear yellow. 3. Easily seen through; transparent: clear water. 4. Free from flaw, blemish, or impurity: a clear, perfect diamond; a clear record with the police. 5. Free from impediment, obstruction, or hindrance; open: a clear view; a clear path to victory. 6. Plain or evident to the mind; unmistakable: a clear case of cheating. 7. Easily perceptible to the eye or ear; distinct: the clear call of a songbird. 8. Discerning or perceiving easily; keen: a clear mind. 9. Free from doubt or confusion; certain: His meaning is clear. 10. Free from qualification or limitation; absolute: a clear winner. 11. Free from guilt; untroubled: a clear conscience. 12. Having been freed from contact, proximity, or connection: At last we were clear of the danger. The ship was clear of the reef. 13. Free from charges or deductions; net: a clear profit. 14. Containing nothing: The ship's hold was clear. adv. 1. Distinctly; clearly: spoke loud and clear. 2. Out of the way; completely away: stood clear of the doors. 3. Informal All the way; completely: slept clear through the night; read the book clear to the end. v. cleared, clear·ing, clears v.tr. 1. To make light, clear, or bright: The wind cleared the sky of clouds. 2. To rid of impurities, blemishes, muddiness, or foreign matter: The new filter cleared the water. 3. To free from confusion, doubt, or ambiguity; make plain or intelligible: cleared up the question of responsibility. 4. a. To rid of objects or obstructions: clear the table; clear the road of debris. b. To make (a way or clearing) by removing obstructions: clear a path through the jungle. c. To remove (objects or obstructions): clear the dishes; clear snow from the road. 5. a. To remove the occupants of: clear the theater. b. To remove (people): clear the children from the room. 6. Sports a. To move or shoot (a ball or puck) away from the goal or out of the defensive zone. b. To clear a ball or puck out of (the defensive zone), as in lacrosse or hockey. 7. Computers a. To rid (a memory location or buffer, for example) of instructions or data. b. To remove (instructions or data) from memory. 8. To free from a legal charge or imputation of guilt; acquit: cleared the suspect of the murder charge. 9. To pass by, under, or over without contact: The boat cleared the dock. 10. To settle (a debt). 11. To gain (a given amount) as net profit or earnings. 12. To pass (a bill of exchange, such as a check) through a clearing-house. 13. a. To secure the approval of: The bill cleared the Senate. b. To authorize or approve: cleared the material for publication. 14. To free (a ship or cargo) from legal detention at a harbor by fulfilling customs and harbor requirements. 15. To give clearance or authorization to: cleared the plane to land. 16. To free (the throat) of phlegm by making a rasping sound. v.intr. 1. To become clear: The sky cleared. 2. To go away; disappear: The fog cleared. 3. a. To exchange checks and bills or settle accounts through a clearing-house. b. To pass through the banking system and be debited and credited to the relevant accounts: The check cleared. 4. To comply with customs and harbor requirements in discharging a cargo or in leaving or entering a port. n. A clear or open space.Phrasal Verb: clear out Informal To leave a place, usually quickly.Idioms: clear the air To dispel differences or emotional tensions. in the clear 1. Free from burdens or dangers. 2. Not subject to suspicion or accusations of guilt: The evidence showed that the suspect was actually in the clear. [Middle English cler, from Old French, from Latin clārus, clear, bright; see kelə-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] cleara·ble adj. clearer n. clearly adv. clearness n. Synonyms: clear, crystal, crystalline, limpid, pellucid, transparent These adjectives mean not opaque or clouded: wrapped in clear plastic; crystal waters fed by snowmelt; crystalline air after a storm; a limpid blue pool; fish darting in the pellucid shallows; the transparent wings of a dragonfly. See Also Synonyms at apparent. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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