Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - clear

~1 adj 1 »EASY TO UNDERSTAND« expressed in a simple and direct way so that people understand  (clear instructions | You must never do that again. Is that clear? | be clear on)  (The rules are quite clear on the point. | clear to sb)  (Is all this clear to you? | make sth clear (=express something strongly))  (Taylor's book makes the subject exquisitely clear. | make it clear (that))  (Mr Tate made it clear there was to be no compromise. | make yourself clear (=express something well))  (To make yourself clear without using facial expressions can be very difficult. | get sth clear)  (Let's get one thing clear; you have my whole-hearted support. | Do I make myself clear? (=used when you are angry and are telling someone to do or not to do something))  (If I catch you smoking again you're grounded. Do I make myself clear? | a clear picture/idea (=a good understanding) | crystal clear (=very easy to understand)) 2 »IMPOSSIBLE TO DOUBT« impossible to doubt, question, or be mistaken about  (clear evidence of guilt | They won by a clear majority. | clear whether/why/how etc)  (It is not yet clear whether we will benefit or not. | it is clear that)  (It is clear that this situation cannot last much longer. | become clear)  (It has become increasingly clear that privileges have been abused. | a clear case/example of sth)  (a clear case of theft) 3 »CERTAIN« be clear to feel certain that you know or understand something + 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.) 4 »SUBSTANCE/LIQUID« transparent  (a clear gel) 5 »WATER/AIR« clean and fresh  (a crystal clear mountain lake) 6 clear sky/day etc without clouds, mist, smoke etc 7 »EYES« very pure in colour and without any redness 8 »SKIN« smooth and without any red spots 9 »EASY TO SEE« easy to see  (The photo was fuzzy, not clear at all) 10 »EASY TO HEAR« easy to hear, and therefore easy to understand  (a clear speaking voice | The radio reception isn't very clear. | clear as a bell (=very easy to hear and understand)) 11 »AFTER TAX« a clear amount of profit, wages etc is what is left after taxes have been paid on it; net3 (1)  (I get -200 a week clear. | a clear $10,000/-400 etc)  (It pays a clear $30,000 per year.) 12 a clear month/two clear weeks/five clear days etc used to say that you have a whole month, two weeks etc to do something without having to do anything else 13 see your way clear (to doing sth) informal to have the necessary time or willingness to be able to do something  (I was hoping you could see your way clear to lending me $150.) 14 a clear conscience the knowledge that you have done the right thing  (Now I've explained what happened, I can go with a clear conscience.) 15 »NOT BLOCKED« not covered or blocked by anything that stops you from doing or seeing what you want  (Finally! A clear desk. | clear view/look)  (From the top floor you get a clear view of the bay.) 16 »NOT BUSY« without any planned activities or events  (Next Monday is clear; shall we meet then?) 17 a clear head the ability to think clearly and quickly  (I won't drink now - I'll need a clear head to face Susan.) 18 be clear of to not touch something or to be ahead of someone or something  (He parked the car clear of the entrance. | United are clear of their nearest rivals.) 19 as clear as mud spoken humorous used to say that something is very difficult to understand  (- see also all-clear, clarity, clearly, the coast is clear coast1 (2)) - clearness n ~2 v 1 »SURFACE/PLACE« to make a surface or place emptier or tidier by removing things that cover it  (clear sth of)  (The room had been cleared of all his possessions. | clear a space for (=move things so that there is room for something else))  (Sally cleared a space on her desk for the computer. | clear the table (=take plates, forks, knives etc off the table after you have eaten)) 2 »UNBLOCK« to remove something that is blocking something else or causing a problem  (Snowploughs have been out clearing the roads. | clear sb/sth from sth)  (Police cleared crowds from the area.) 3 »OF A 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. | clear sb's name)  (He fought for years to clear his name.) 4 »GIVE/GET PERMISSION« a) to give or get official permission for something to be done  (The plans have not yet been cleared by the council. | clear sth with sb)  (I'll have to clear that with my boss 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 sth through customs/clear customs to be allowed to take things through customs (custom (4)) 6 »WEATHER« if the weather, sky, mist etc clears, conditions become brighter or easier to see through  (We'll wait till the fog clears.) 7 »LIQUID« if a liquid clears, it becomes more transparent 8 »CHEQUE« if a cheque clears or if a bank clears it, the money is moved from one bank to another 9 clear a debt/loan to get rid of a debt by paying what you owe 10 »EARN« informal to earn a particular amount of money after taxes have been paid on it  (Diane clears -20,000 a year.) 11 clear a fence/hurdle/wall etc to jump over a fence etc without touching it 12 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 a bit.) 13 clear the air to talk calmly and seriously with someone in order to try to end an argument and feel better 14 clear the decks to do a lot of work that needs to be done before you can do other things  (I'm trying to clear the decks before Christmas.) 15 clear your throat to cough in order to be able to speak properly 16 »FACE/EXPRESSION« if your face or expression clears, you stop looking worried or angry  (Her brow cleared and she smiled.) 17 »JOB/DUTY« to deal with work that needs to be done  (Look! I've got all this to clear before the week-end.) 18 »SKIN« to no longer have spots 19 clear the way for to make preparations so that a process can happen  (This agreement will clear the way for further talks.) 20 »MESSAGE« technical to discover the meaning of a message in a secret language; decode (1) clear away phr v to make a place look tidier by putting things back where they belong  (Come on children, time to start clearing away. | clear sth away)  (Let's clear these files away.) clear off phr v BrE informal to leave a place quickly  (They cleared off when they saw the police coming. | clear off! spoken (=used to tell someone angrily to go away)) clear out phr v 1 to make a place tidy by removing unwanted things  (clear sth out)  (It's time I cleared those drawers out.) 2 to leave a place or building quickly  (I'll give you ten minutes to clear out of here. | clear out! spoken (=used to tell someone angrily to go away))  (- see also clear-out) clear up phr v 1 to make a place look tidier by putting things back where they belong  (We'd better start clearing up. | clear sth up)  (Come on, Jamie, clear those toys up.) 2 T clear something up) to find the whole explanation for something that is strange and hard to understand, such as a crime  (The Dreyfus case was never completely cleared up.) 3 T clear something up) to make sure that everyone involved in something understands all the facts and agrees, so that there will be no problems  (There are a couple of points we need to clear up before the meeting begins.) 4 if the weather clears up, it gets better 5 if an illness or infection clears up, it disappears clear up after sb phr v to make somewhere clean and tidy after someone else has made it dirty and untidy  (I'm sick of clearing up after you!) ~3 adv 1 away from or out of the way  (They managed to pull her clear of the wreckage.) 2 keep/stay/steer clear (of) to avoid someone or something because of possible danger or trouble  (Steer clear of Marilyn, she's a troublemaker.) 3 see clear especially AmE to see something that is a long way away clearly  (You can see clear to the mountains today.) loud and clear loud2 (2) ~4 n in the clear a) not guilty of something  (If Middlemass had spoken to Potter at 8:45, Potter was in the clear.) b) no longer having a particular illness or infection