clear

clear¹ W1S1 [klıə US klır] adj comparative clearer superlative clearest

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1¦(easy to understand)¦

2¦(impossible to doubt)¦

3¦(sure about something)¦

4¦(thinking)¦

5¦(substance/liquid)¦

6¦(weather)¦

7¦(eyes)¦

8¦(skin)¦

9¦(easy to see)¦

10¦(easy to hear)¦

11¦(after tax)¦

12 a clear conscience

13¦(period of time)¦

14¦(not busy)¦

15¦(not blocked/covered)¦

16 see your way clear (to doing something)

17 be clear of something

18 as clear as mud

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: cler, from Latin clarus 'clear, bright']

1.) ¦(EASY TO UNDERSTAND)¦

expressed in a simple and direct way so that people understand

→↑clarity, clearly ↑clearly

▪ clear instructions

▪ The question wasn't very clear.

▪ It's the clearest guide I've used.

clear about

▪ The school is clear about its policy on bullying.

clear about what/when/how etc

▪ Be very clear about what jobs should be completed, and by when.

clear on

▪ The rules are quite clear on the point.

clear to

▪ It was clear to him that Tolkien was a literary genius.

make sth clear

▪ The bishop made his views clear in a letter to the publisher.

▪ How can you make the meaning clearer?

make it clear that

▪ Make it clear that you will not take sides.

absolutely/abundantly clear

▪ Can I make it absolutely clear that we did not intend this to happen?

▪ Perhaps I tried to cover too much and didn't make myself clear (=express myself well) .

▪ If you don't understand, it's best to say so and get things clear .

▪ If I catch you smoking again, you're grounded. Do I make myself clear (=used when you are angry) ?

clear picture/idea

(=a good understanding)

▪ The report gave a clear picture of the property's condition.

▪ He writes crystal clear (=very easy to understand) prose.

2.) ¦(IMPOSSIBLE TO DOUBT)¦

impossible to doubt, question, or make a mistake about

→↑clearly

▪ clear evidence of guilt

▪ They won by a clear majority.

it is clear whether/why/how etc

▪ It is not yet clear whether he shares these views.

it is clear (that)

▪ It is clear that the drug does benefit some patients.

▪ When it became clear that I was going to have a baby, he left me.

clear case/example of sth

▪ a clear case of sexual discrimination

3.) ¦(SURE ABOUT SOMETHING)¦

feeling certain that you know or understand something

→↑clearly clear about/on

▪ Are you all clear now about what you have to do?

clear whether/what/how etc

▪ I'm still not really clear how this machine works.

▪ Let me get this clear - you hadn't seen her in three days?

▪ a clearer understanding of the issues

4.) ¦(THINKING)¦

able to think sensibly and quickly

→↑clarity, clearly ↑clearly

▪ She felt that her thinking was clearer now.

▪ In the morning, with a clear head , she'd tackle the problem.

5.) ¦(SUBSTANCE/LIQUID)¦

easy to see through, rather than coloured or dirty

= ↑transparent

≠ ↑cloudy, opaque ↑opaque

▪ clear glass bottles

▪ a crystal clear mountain lake

6.) ¦(WEATHER)¦

clean and fresh, without clouds or mist

▪ a clear June morning

▪ The skies were clear and blue.

7.) ¦(EYES)¦

healthy, very pure in colour, and without any redness

▪ clear blue eyes

8.) ¦(SKIN)¦

smooth and without any red spots

▪ a clear complexion

9.) ¦(EASY TO SEE)¦

having details, edges, lines etc that are easy to see, or shapes that are easy to recognize

→↑clarity

▪ a TV with a clear picture and high-quality sound

10.) ¦(EASY TO HEAR)¦

easy to hear, and therefore easy to understand

→↑clarity, clearly ↑clearly

▪ a clear speaking voice

▪ The radio reception isn't very clear.

▪ It's a good recording; the sound is as clear as a bell (=very clear) .

11.) ¦(AFTER TAX)¦

a clear amount of profit, wages etc is what is left after taxes have been paid on it

= ↑net

▪ I get £200 a week clear.

▪ Sam makes a clear $90,000 per year.

12.) a clear conscience

the knowledge that you have done the right thing and should not feel guilty

▪ I don't think I could vote for him with a clear conscience.

▪ She had done what she could and her conscience was clear.

13.) ¦(PERIOD OF TIME)¦

without any planned activities or events

▪ Next Monday is clear; how about 10 o'clock?

▪ Leave at least one clear day between the flight and any business meetings.

14.) ¦(NOT BUSY)¦

complete or whole

▪ Allow three clear days for delivery.

15.) ¦(NOT BLOCKED/COVERED)¦

not covered or blocked by anything that stops you from doing or seeing what you want

▪ The roads were fairly clear this morning.

clear view/look

▪ From the top floor you get a clear view of the bay.

clear of

▪ To prevent fires, the sides of the roads are kept clear of underbrush.

16.) see your way clear (to doing sth) informal to have the necessary time or willingness to be able to do something

▪ We expect good results soon, if the board can see its way clear to continuing funding the project.

17.) be clear of sth

to not be touching something, or to be past someone or something

▪ Wait to cross until the street is clear of cars.

▪ The curtains should be a couple of inches clear of the floor.

18.) as clear as mud

spoken used humorously to say that something is very difficult to understand

→↑all clear,the coast is clear at ↑coast¹ (2)

>clearness n [U]

clear ²

clear² W2S1 v

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1¦(surface/place)¦

2¦(remove people)¦

3¦(crime/blame etc)¦

4¦(permission)¦

5 clear your throat

6¦(weather)¦

7¦(liquid)¦

8¦(cheque)¦

9¦(go over/past)¦

10 clear a debt/loan

11 clear your head/mind

12¦(face/expression)¦

13 clear the way for something

14¦(skin)¦

15 clear the air

16 clear (something through) customs

17 clear the decks

18¦(earn)¦

Phrasal verbs

　clear something<=>away

　clear off

　clear out

　clear up

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1.) ¦(SURFACE/PLACE)¦ [T]

to make somewhere emptier or tidier by removing things from it

▪ Snowplows have been out clearing the roads.

clear sth of sth

▪ Large area of land had been cleared of forest.

clear sth from sth

▪ Workers have been clearing the wreckage from the tracks.

▪ Dad cleared a space (=moved things so that there was room) in the garage for Jim's tools.

▪ It's Kelly's turn to clear the table (=remove the dirty plates, forks etc) .

2.) ¦(REMOVE PEOPLE)¦ [T]

to make people, cars etc leave a place

▪ Within minutes, police had cleared the area.

clear sb/sth from sth

▪ Crowds of demonstrators were cleared from the streets.

3.) ¦(CRIME/BLAME ETC)¦ [T usually passive]

to prove that someone is not guilty of something

▪ Rawlings was cleared after new evidence was produced.

clear sb of (doing) sth

▪ Maya was cleared of manslaughter.

▪ a long-running legal battle to clear his name

4.) ¦(PERMISSION)¦ [T]

a) to give or get official permission for something to be done

▪ He was cleared by doctors to resume skating in August.

clear sth with sb

▪ Defence policies must often be cleared with NATO allies first.

b) to give official permission for a person, ship, or aircraft to enter or leave a country

▪ The plane took off as soon as it was cleared.

5.) clear your throat

to cough in order to be able to speak with a clear voice

6.) ¦(WEATHER)¦ also clear up

if the weather, sky, mist etc clears, it becomes better and there is more sun

▪ The haze usually clears by lunchtime.

7.) ¦(LIQUID)¦ [I]

if a liquid clears, it becomes more transparent and you can see through it

▪ Wait for the water to clear before adding any fish.

8.) ¦(CHEQUE)¦ [I and T]

if a cheque clears, or if a bank clears it, the bank allows the money to be paid into the account of the person whose name is on the cheque

9.) ¦(GO OVER/PAST)¦ [T]

to go over a fence, wall etc without touching it, or to go past or through something and no longer be in it

▪ The plane barely cleared the fence at the end of the runway.

▪ Edwards cleared 18 feet in the pole vault.

▪ The plane cleared Chinese airspace.

10.) clear a debt/loan

to get rid of a debt by paying what you owe

11.) clear your head/mind

to stop worrying or thinking about something, or get rid of the effects of drinking too much alcohol

▪ A good walk might clear my head.

12.) ¦(FACE/EXPRESSION)¦ [I]

[i]literary if your face or expression clears, you stop looking worried or angry

▪ She looked embarrassed, but then her face cleared.

13.) clear the way for sth

written to make it possible for a process to happen

▪ This agreement will clear the way for further talks.

14.) ¦(SKIN)¦ also clear up

if your skin clears, red marks on it disappear

▪ The rash has finally cleared.

15.) clear the air

to do something to end an argument or bad situation, for example discuss a problem calmly

16.) clear (sth through) customs

to be allowed to take things through ↑customs

17.) clear the decks

to do all the work that needs to be done before you can do other things

▪ I'm trying to clear the decks before Christmas.

18.) ¦(EARN)¦ [T] [i]informal

to earn a particular amount of money after taxes have been paid on it

▪ Diane clears £20,000 a year.

clear away [clear sth<=>away] phr v

to make a place look tidier by removing things or putting things back where they belong

▪ When dinner was done and cleared away, Auntie Lou made some tea.

▪ Homeowners are clearing away brush near their houses to prevent fires.

clear off phr v

to leave a place quickly

▪ They cleared off when they saw the police coming.

clear off!

(=used to tell someone angrily to go away)

clear out phr v

1.) clear sth<=> out

to make a place tidy by removing things from it and getting rid of them

▪ I need to clear out my closet.

2.) to leave a place or building quickly

▪ Wait to get on the train until the people getting off have cleared out.

clear out!

BrE (=used to tell someone angrily to go away)

→↑clear-out

clear up phr v

1.) to make a place look tidier by putting things back where they belong

▪ I don't mind you using the kitchen as long as you clear up afterwards.

clear sth<=>up

▪ Adam, clear up this mess before your father sees it.

clear up after

▪ I get really tired of clearing up after you (=tidying places that you have made untidy) .

2.) clear sth<=> up

to explain or solve something, or make it easier to understand

▪ The White House hopes these problems can be cleared up soon.

▪ There are a couple of points we need to clear up before the meeting begins.

3.) if the weather clears up, it gets better

4.) if an illness or infection clears up, it disappears

clear ³

clear³ adv

1.) away from something, or out of the way

▪ Firefighters pulled her clear of the wreckage.

▪ Please stand clear of the doors.

2.) keep/stay/steer clear (of sb/sth)

to avoid someone or something because of possible danger or trouble

▪ If you're a beginner, steer clear of resorts with reputations for difficult skiing.

3.) informal especially AmE used to emphasize a long distance

▪ You can see clear to the hills.

→loud and clear at ↑loud² (2)

clear ⁴

clear⁴ n

in the clear

not guilty of something

▪ If Middlemass had spoken to Potter at 8:45, Potter was in the clear.