Definition

1. Noun:
   • Official permission or authorization to proceed: An official approval or authorization, often from an authority, that allows something to happen or someone to proceed.
   • The act of clearing or the state of being cleared: The process of removing objects, obstacles, or people from a space, or the resulting empty state.
   • The distance between two objects, especially a moving object and an obstacle: The amount of space, often vertical, that allows one object to pass safely by or under another without touching it.
   • The process of passing checks or other financial instruments through a banking system: The process by which a financial transaction, like a check payment, is finalized and funds are transferred between accounts.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Permission):
  • The air traffic controller granted the pilot clearance for takeoff.
  • You need security clearance to access this classified information.
• Noun (Act of Clearing):
  • The clearance of the old buildings made space for the new park.
  • The store is having a clearance to sell all its old stock.
• Noun (Distance/Space):
  • The truck had just enough clearance to pass under the low bridge.
  • Check the clearance between the fan blade and the housing.
• Noun (Financial Processing):
  • The check is still in clearance; the funds will be available tomorrow.

Advanced Usage

• "To give/get the all-clear": To receive or give official permission or confirmation that a danger has passed. While not using "clearance," this idiom is conceptually related to the permission sense.
  • After the inspection, they gave us the all-clear to re-enter the building.
• "Customs clearance": The official process of getting permission from customs authorities to bring goods into a country.
  • The shipment is delayed pending customs clearance.

Variants and Related Words

• Clear (verb): To remove objects or obstacles from a place; to gain authorization or permission; to pass by or over without touching.
  • Please clear the table after dinner.
  • The plane cleared the mountains safely.
• Clear (adjective): Easy to perceive or understand; free of obstacles.
  • Her instructions were very clear.
• Clearer (noun): A person or thing that clears. (Less common).
• Clearing (noun): An open area in a forest where trees have been removed.
  • They set up camp in a small clearing.

Synonyms

• Authorization (for permission): Official permission or approval.
• Permission: Consent or authorization to do something.
• Gap/Space (for distance): An empty space or interval.
• Margin: The amount by which something is won or exceeds; an extra amount allowed for contingency (related to the space/distance sense).

Related Phrases (Conceptual)

• Security clearance: An official status granted to individuals, allowing them access to classified information.
  • He holds a top-secret security clearance.
• Final clearance: The last and definitive authorization.
  • We are waiting for final clearance from headquarters.
• Obstacle clearance: The minimum safe distance from an obstacle, especially in aviation.
  • The flight path must maintain adequate obstacle clearance.

Idioms (Conceptually Related)

• "In the clear": Free from blame, suspicion, or danger.
  • Once the real culprit was found, the suspect was in the clear. (This idiom uses "clear" as an adjective, not the noun "clearance," but shares the root concept of being free from obstruction or blame.)

Noun

1. permission to proceed
   • the plane was given clearance to land
2. vertical space available to allow easy passage under something
3. the distance by which one thing clears another; the space between them