clearance

[ kleer-uhns ]
See synonyms for clearance on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of clearing.

  2. the distance between two objects; an amount of clear space: The bridge allowed a clearance of 37 feet at mean high water.

  1. a formal authorization permitting access to classified information, documents, etc.

  2. 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.

  3. a clear space; a clearing: The house stood in a clearance among the trees.

  4. Banking. an exchange of checks and other commercial paper drawn on members of a clearinghouse, usually effected at a daily meeting of the members.

  5. Machinery. a space between two moving parts, left to avoid clashing or to permit relatively free motion.

  6. the angle between a face of a cutting tool, as a lathe tool, and the work.

  7. Nautical.

    • the clearing of a ship at a port.

    • Also called clearance papers. the official papers certifying this.

  8. 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.

Origin of clearance

1
First recorded in 1555–65; clear + -ance

Other words from clearance

  • non·clear·ance, noun
  • pre·clear·ance, noun, adjective
  • self-clear·ance, noun

Words Nearby clearance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use clearance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clearance

clearance

/ (ˈklɪərəns) /


noun
    • the process or an instance of clearing: slum clearance

    • (as modifier): a clearance order

  1. space between two parts in motion or in relative motion

  1. permission for an aircraft, ship, passengers, etc, to proceed

  2. official permission to have access to secret information, projects, areas, etc

  3. banking the exchange of commercial documents drawn on the members of a clearing house

    • the disposal of merchandise at reduced prices

    • (as modifier): a clearance sale

  4. sport

    • the act of hitting or kicking a ball out of the defensive area, as in football

    • an instance of this

  5. the act of clearing an area of land of its inhabitants by mass eviction: See Highland Clearances

  6. dentistry the extraction of all of a person's teeth

  7. a less common word for clearing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012