Clear1, n.
n. (Carp.) Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially, the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls; as, a room ten feet square in the clear.
5 entries under this word
Clear
Clear2, a.
a. [compar. CLEARER; superl. CLEAREST.] [O. Fr. cleir, cler, N. Fr. clair, Pr. clar, Sp. & Pg. claro, It. chiaro, Ger. klar, from Lat. clarus, clear, bright.] 1. Free from opaqueness; transparent; bright; undimmed. The stream is so transparent, pure, and clear. Denham. The clear sun on his wide watery glass gazed not. Milton. 2. Free from indistinctness or uncertainty; easily understood; perspicuous; plain. Multitudes of words are neither an argument of clear ideas in the writer, nor a proper means of conveying clear notions to the reader. A. Clarke. 3. Able to perceive clearly; acute; discriminating; unbiased. Mother of science! now I feel thy power Within me clear, not only to discern Things in their causes, but to trace the ways Of highest agents. Milton.
- Not clouded with passion; serene. “With calm aspect and clear.” Milton.
- Easily or distinctly heard; audible.
Hark! the numbers, soft and clear, Gently steal upon the ear. Pope.
- Free from impurities; without mixture; entirely pure; as, clear water; clear sand.
- Free from defect or blemish; as, a clear complexion; clear timber.
- Free from guilt or stain; innocent; unblemished. “In action faithful and in honor clear.” Pope.
- Without diminution; in full; net.
I often wished that I had clear, For life, six hundred pounds a-year. Swift. 10. Free from impediment, obstacle, embarrassment, or accusation. My companion . . . left the way clear for him. Addison. Five pounds . . . would set me clear. Gay. On the instant they got clear of our ship. Shak. Syn. — Manifest; pure; unmixed; pellucid; transparent; luminous; obvious; visible; plain; evident; apparent; distinct; perspicuous. See MANIFEST.
Clear3, adv.
adv. 1. In a clear manner; plainly.
*Now clear I understood What oft my steadiest thoughts have searched in vain. Milton.*
Sense 2. Without limitation; wholly; quite; entirely; as, to cut a piece clear off.
Clear4, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. CLEARED; p. pr. & vb. n. CLEARING.]
Sense 1. To free from whatever obstructs sight; to render bright, transparent, or undimmed; as, to clear the sight. Chapman.
He sweeps the skies and clears the cloudy north. Dryden.
Sense 2. To free from obscurity, perplexity, or ambiguity; to render intelligible or evident.
Many knotty points there are.
Which all discuss, but few can clear. Prior.
Sense 3. To free from whatever obstructs sound or hearing; to render audible; as, to clear the voice.
Sense 4. To free from mixture, impurity, or defilement; to clarify; to cleanse; as, to clear liquors.
Sense 5. To free from impediment, incumbrance, embarrassment, or any thing noxious or injurious; as, to clear land from trees; to clear a road of obstructions.
Sense 6. To free from the imputation of guilt; to justify, vindicate, or acquit.
To clear herself;
For sending him no aid, she came from Egypt. Dryden.
How! wouldst thou clear rebellion? Addison.
Sense 7. To leap or pass by, or over, without touching or failure; as, to clear a hedge or ditch; to clear a reef. W. Scott. Cook.
Sense 8. To make gain or profit beyond expenses and charges; to net.
He clears but two hundred thousand crowns a year, after having defrayed all the charges of working the salt. Addison.
Sense 9. To remove so as to leave something unobstructed; as, to clear away rubbish.
To clear a ship at the custom-house, to exhibit the documents required by law, give bonds, or perform other acts requisite, and procure a permission to sail, and such papers as the law requires. — To clear a ship for action, or to clear for action, to remove all incumbrances from the decks, and prepare for an engagement. — To clear the land (Naut.), to gain such a distance from shore as to have open sea room, and be out of danger from the land.
Clear5, v. i.
v. i. 1 To become free from clouds or fog; to become fair; — often followed by up, off, or away. So foul a sky clears not without a storm. Shak. Advise him to stay till the weather clears up. Swift. 2. To be disengaged from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free or disengaged. He that clears at once will relapse. Bacon. 3. (Banking.) To make exchanges and settle balances by a method adopted among bankers. To clear out, to depart. [Colloq.]