clear

From Wiktionary
clear is on the Basic English 850 List.
clean - clear - clock
clear is one of the 1000 most common headwords.
clean - clear - client

Pronunciation[change]

Adjective[change]

Positive
clear

Comparative
clearer

Superlative
clearest

A clear glass.
  1. A clear idea is an idea that is easy to understand.
    OK, so you need the key. I see. That's clear now.
    Now it's clear as a bell to me why you want to stay here.
  2. If it is clear that something is a certain way, there can be no mistake about it.
    The women made it clear that they were doing this only because they wanted to.
    It soon became perfectly clear that he was not going to get better.
    It's clear from looking at you that you couldn't lift it; you're too small.
    This is a clear example of an idea that works.
  3. If you are clear about something, you understand it well.
    Mike, I want to be clear about what you said, so can you tell me again.
    I'm sorry, but I'm not clear about what I'm supposed to do.
  4. If you are clear about something, you make it easy for people to understand you.
    The coach had been very clear about what he wanted them to do.
    They haven't been so clear about how much water is in there.
  5. If your head or your thinking is clear, then you can think well.
    After his coffee and a quick walk, his head felt clear.
    On Monday, he looked confused and didn't say much, but the next day, his thinking seemed more clear.
  6. If something is clear, people can see through it.
    The window is made of clear glass.
    The water wasn't clear enough to see the bottom.
  7. If something is clear, it has nothing that gets in your way.
    I try to drive to work only when the roads are clear.
    It's supposed to be clear and sunny today.
    That table's not clear yet. Can you get the stuff off it?
    The skies were clear of clouds.
  8. If something is clear, it is easy to see or hear.
    The picture wasn't clear enough to see whose face it was.
    At first, the radio was noisy, but we moved and then we got clear, rich sound.
  9. If your skin is clear, it has no spots on it.
    Her deep honey skin was clear except for the small mark on her left cheek.
  10. If your eyes are clear, they are healthy, bright, and lively.
    His eyes were sharp and clear, and full of fun.
  11. Clear profit is profit after tax.
    These are priced so high that the manufacturers pocket $8,000 clear profit per $30,000 unit.
  12. If you have a clear conscience or your conscience is clear, you do not feel guilty.
    I sleep perfectly at night. I have a clear conscience. I don't have blood on my hands.

Related words[change]

Verb[change]

Plain form
clear

Third-person singular
clears

Past tense
cleared

Past participle
cleared

Present participle
clearing

  1. (transitive) If you clear something, you move or remove things that you don't want there.
    You clear the table and I'll get coffee ready.
    We'll have to clear out the garage to make room for the new car.
    My grandparents cleared this land so that we could live and farm here.
    I worked for ten minutes to clear a path in the snow from the door to the road.
    About 13 million hectares of forest were cleared each year.
  2. (intransitive) If something clears, it becomes clear.
    After the fire, it took some time for the air to clear.
    Above her, the black sky cleared, until she could see the thousands of stars all across it.
    The window fogged and cleared as she breathed on it.
  3. (intransitive) If something clears, it goes away, leaving the place it was clear.
    After the fire, it took some time for the smoke to clear.
    He couldn't see well as car drove up the dirt road, but after the dust had cleared, he could see it was his father.
  4. (transitive) If you clear your throat, you cough lightly to make speaking easier.
    Tears filled her eyes again, and she cleared her throat. "As soon as I can, I'll get on a plane and meet you."
  5. (transitive & intransitive) If you clear the air, or if the air clears, you talk about a problem so that nobody has doubts or bad feelings.
    I think it's important for me to tell you what has happened and clear the air about this matter.
  6. (transitive) If you clear somebody to do something, you give them permission.
    His personal plane had been cleared to land at the airport.
  7. (transitive & intransitive) If your head, mind, thinking, etc. clears then you become able to think well.
    The coffee helped to clear her head, and she sat down to think.
  8. (transitive) If you clear something, you get over it without touching it or without a problem.
    The bike got air and cleared the water by a meter.
  9. (transitive) If you clear somebody of something bad you show that they did not do it.
    After clearing him of any wrongdoing, the police set him free.
  10. (transitive) If you clear a hurdle, you solve one of a number of problems.
    The case has many more hurdles to clear before it can go to trial.
    The winner had to clear plenty of hurdles before beating Clement.
  11. After the dust clears is some time later, when there is no more trouble or confusion.
    It took a few weeks, but after the dust had cleared, and everybody had gone home, he realized he had enjoyed it.
  12. (transitive & intransitive) If a cheque clears, then the money is ready to be used.
  13. (transitive) If you clear a certain amount of money, you make that as profit (after expenses).
  14. (sports) (transitive) If you clear the ball or puck, you move it away from your own goal.

Related words[change]

Preposition[change]

Preposition
clear

  1. Out of, away from, especially too far away to be noticed or caught.
    After a short walk, we were clear of the town.
    The fish was so heavy that he couldn't get it clear of the water.
    After their fight, he steered clear of her for a week.
    It was so crowded that they had to fight their way out and clear of the people.
    So far, the company has stayed clear of trouble.
    Two more wins would put them clear of the Giants.
    Just clear of the school yard, students were smoking.

Adverb[change]

Positive
clear

Comparative
none

Superlative
none

  1. (before a preposition) Completely, without limit.
    You could see clear across the water, all the way to the church 60 km away on the other side.