clearance
(ˈklɪərəns)
[f. as prec. + -ance.]
1. a. The action of clearing, or making clear; a freeing from obscurity, obstruction, encumbrance.
| a 1563 Bale Wks. (1849) 253 A prophecy is this Apocalypse called..it is a full clearance to all the chronicles and most notable histories, etc. 1697 T. Blackwell Schema Sacr. Pref. 9 A particular consideration and clearance of these doctrines. 1827 Southey Penins. War II. 695 The ship was sent to Gibraltar to..undergo a thorough clearance. 1847 Mrs. Gore Castles Air ii. (Stratm.), As some clearance to my density, I fell back upon the letter. 1884 Law Times Reports 15 Mar. 88/2 To effect the clearance of a large property from incumbrances. 1885 Martineau Ethical Theory I. 193 It does not much matter whether the advantage of arithmetic and algebra is called a clearance or an extension of thought. |
b. Assoc. Football, etc. The act of clearing the ball, etc., from one's defensive zone; a kick or stroke which does this: see clear v. 10 c; also clearance kick.
| 1920 Football Favourite 11 Sept. 10/1 Remember, you young full-backs.., that..the quick clearance is the best clearance. 1929 J. B. Priestley Good Companions i. i. 4 A critic.., ready in a second to estimate the worth of a well-judged pass, a run down the touch line,..a clearance kick by back or goalkeeper. 1950 Sport 7–11 Apr. 8/4 Scott's clearances are just kicks most of the time. 1986 Sunday Tel. 9 Mar. 39/8 Villa..took a 49th minute lead when O'Leary's clearance cannoned off Keown to Walters. |
2. spec. The clearing (of land) by the removal of wood, old houses, inhabitants, etc.
| 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 350 (Hoppe) The ‘clearances,’ as they were called, which took place some few years back, in the Highlands of Scotland..The strathes and glens of Sutherland have been cleared of their inhabitants. 1874 Sat. Rev. July 82 Cases in which the help of Parliament is asked to enforce clearances of land in large towns. 1883 Athenæum 3 Mar. 275 The story of the Highland clearances deserves to be told. |
3. The removal of encumbrances, burdens, obstructions, etc.
| 1824 Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 22 A general clearance of pollards and brambles. 1831 Cat's Tail 23 You'd have sworn he considered her loss a good clearance. 1854–6 Patmore Angel in H. i. i. ii. (1879) 27 This clearance light of all my care. 1858 Froude Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 177 A fine scene..as we sometimes witness with the sudden clearance of a storm. |
4. The settlement of a debt, or claim; the passing of cheques, etc., through the Clearing House for their settlement.
| 1858 Froude Hist. Eng. IV. 163 To prevent disputes by a clearance of the score. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. xi. (1876) 148 Many millions in value of such bills are weekly cleared through the London bankers, and these clearances represent a large..amount of these commercial instruments. |
5. a. Comm. The clearing of a ship at the Custom House. Cf. clear v. 20.
| 1731–6 Bailey, Clearance (or Clearing) of a ship at the Custom house. 1774 Hull Dock Act 24 At the time of such ship's..clearance or discharge outwards. 1805 in East Reports V. 398 A certificate of clearance, with a manifest of her cargo annexed thereto. 1885 Act 48 & 49 Vic. c. 60 §20 Ships..whose last port of clearance or port of destination is in any such possession. |
b. Approval, permission (see clear v. 11 c); spec. permission (from the control-tower) to land or take off in an aircraft. orig. U.S.
| 1944 [see clear v. 11 c]. 1953 Time 23 Feb., Clearance (by payment to publishers' societies ASCAP and BMI) was necessary for permission to play a song on the air. 1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose i. 6, I got my clearance from the Tower..and took her off. Ibid., I..got clearance to let down. |
c. The clearing of a person for work involving questions of (national) security. orig. U.S.
| 1948 Amer. Political Sci. Rev. XLII. 498 Dismissal of ten State Department employees as ‘security risks’... Footnote. It was reported that they could have appealed to the Civil Service Commission for possible clearance for other..government employment. 1948 Chemical & Engin. News 26 July 2200 The question before the commission is the security clearance of..[the] director of the National Bureau of Standards. 1955 Bull. Atomic Sci. Feb. 66/1, I was entitled to full clearance for access to classified information in connection with the work. Ibid. Apr. 124/3 The company concerned is consulted on the value of the individual being considered for clearance, but the company does not make the clearance decision. 1956 [see clear v. 9 c]. 1958 J. Cleugh tr. Jungk's Brighter than Thous. Suns xix. 306 He retained, however, the so-called ‘Q clearance’, which still allowed him access to the most carefully guarded secrets. |
6. a. A clear space. b. In the steam-engine: the distance between the cylinder-cover and the piston when at the end of its stroke.
| 1788 Smeaton Quadrant in Phil. Trans. LXXIX. 4 The clearance between the body of the globe and its surrounding horizon. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 433 It requires to be double the length of the cylinder, besides..the spaces..occupied by the necessary steps, framing, clearances, etc. 1902 P. Marshall Metal Tools 36 The widest part of a chisel should be at its cutting edge, behind which point a clearance taper..should be given. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 10 Aug. 4/1 As for building our 'buses lower down, we will do that as soon as the Commissioner of Police reduces the 10-in. clearance regulation. 1959 Listener 6 Aug. 207/2 He [sc. the driver] made wrong estimates of clearances, distances, speeds. |
7. A piece of cleared ground, esp. in the backwoods; = clearing 4.
| a 1839 Galt Demon Destiny, etc. (1840) 69 Flowers unfolding gay Adorn the clearance. 1878 Black Green Past. xl. 317 [This forest was] broken up by innumerable clearances. 1882 W. Boyd Note Backwds. Canada, The young settler had made a clearance of perhaps two acres, on which, however, the stumps still stood. |
8. A certificate that a ship has been cleared on leaving a port (see quot. 1875).
| 1727 Col. Rec. Penn. III. 283 Last from Dover, as by Clearance from the Officers of his Majesties Customs there. 1755 N. Magens Insurances I. 88 All such Clearances or Registers from the Custom-houses, as are ordinarily given..are called for. 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. §6 (ed. 2) 226 The Clearance is the Certificate of the Custom-House authorities of the last port from which the vessel came, to show that the Custom duties have been paid. The Clearance specifies the cargo and its destination. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. III. xx. 532 A few British ships took stamped clearances. |
9. Clear or net profit. rare.
| a 1864 Webster cites Trollope. |
10. attrib., as clearance sale, a sale of goods at reduced prices to effect a clearance of superfluous stock.
| 1880 English Mechanic 6 Feb. p. vii (Advt.), Clearance sale of..bicycles. 1925 B. Beetham in E. F. Norton Fight for Everest, 1924 184 We decided to hold an autumn clearance sale of..general equipment. |