▸ clear off PHRASAL VERB If you tell someone to clear off , you are telling them rather rudely to go away. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V P ] The boys told me to clear off.
▸ clear out
1 PHRASAL VERB If you tell someone to clear out of a place or to clear out , you are telling them rather rudely to leave the place. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V P + of ] She turned to the others in the room. 'The rest of you clear out of here.'. □ [V P ] 'Clear out!' he bawled. 'Private property!'
2 PHRASAL VERB If you clear out a container, room, or house, you tidy it and throw away the things in it that you no longer want. □ [V P n] I took the precaution of clearing out my desk before I left. [Also V n P ]
3 → see also clear-out
▸ clear up
1 PHRASAL VERB When you clear up or clear a place up , you tidy things and put them away. □ [V P ] After breakfast they played while I cleared up. □ [V P n] I cleared up my room. [Also V n P ]
2 PHRASAL VERB To clear up a problem, misunderstanding, or mystery means to settle it or find a satisfactory explanation for it. □ [be V -ed P ] During dinner the confusion was cleared up: they had mistaken me for Kenny. [Also V n P , V P n]
3 → see also clear-up
4 PHRASAL VERB To clear up a medical problem, infection, or disease means to cure it or get rid of it. If a medical problem clears up , it goes away. □ [V P n] Antibiotics should be used to clear up the infection. □ [V P ] Acne often clears up after the first three months of pregnancy. [Also V n P ]
5 PHRASAL VERB When the weather clears up , it stops raining or being cloudy. □ [V P ] It all depends on the weather clearing up.
clear|ance /kl I ə rəns/ (clearances )
1 N‑VAR Clearance is the removal of old buildings, trees, or other things that are not wanted from an area. □ …a slum clearance operation in Nairobi. □ [+ of ] The U.N. pledged to help supervise the clearance of mines.
2 N‑VAR If you get clearance to do or have something, you get official approval or permission to do or have it. □ [+ to ] Thai Airways said the plane had been given clearance to land.
3 N‑VAR The clearance of a bridge is the distance between the lowest point of the bridge and the road or the water under the bridge. □ The lowest fixed bridge has 12.8m clearance.
clea r|ance sale (clearance sales ) N‑COUNT A clearance sale is a sale in which the goods in a shop are sold at reduced prices, because the shopkeeper wants to get rid of them quickly or because the shop is closing down.
cle ar-cu t ADJ Something that is clear-cut is easy to recognize and quite distinct. □ This was a clear-cut case of the original landowner being in the right. □ The issue is not so clear cut.
clea r-hea ded ADJ If you describe someone as clear-headed , you mean that they are sensible and think clearly, especially in difficult situations. [APPROVAL ] □ …his clear-headed grasp of the laws of economics.
clear|ing /kl I ə r I ŋ/ (clearings ) N‑COUNT A clearing is a small area in a forest where there are no trees or bushes. □ [+ in ] A helicopter landed in a clearing in the dense jungle.
clea r|ing bank (clearing banks ) N‑COUNT The clearing banks are the main banks in Britain. Clearing banks use the central clearing house in London to deal with other banks. [BUSINESS ]
clea r|ing house (clearing houses ) also clearing-house
1 N‑COUNT If an organization acts as a clearing house , it collects, sorts, and distributes specialized information. □ [+ for ] The centre will act as a clearing house for research projects for former nuclear scientists.
2 N‑COUNT A clearing house is a central bank which deals with all the business between the banks that use its services. [BUSINESS ]
clea r-out (clear-outs ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] When you have a clear-out , you collect together all the things that you do not want and throw them away. [BRIT , INFORMAL ]
clea r-si ghted ADJ If you describe someone as clear-sighted , you admire them because they are able to understand situations well and to make sensible judgments and decisions about them. [APPROVAL ] □ Try to keep a clear-sighted view of your objective.
clea r-up ADJ [ADJ n] The clear-up rate for a crime or in an area is the percentage of criminals caught by the police, compared to the total number of crimes reported. [BRIT ] □ The clear-up rate for murders remains high.
cleat /kliː t/ (cleats ) N‑COUNT A cleat is a kind of hook with two ends which is used to hold ropes, especially on sailing boats.
cleav|age /kliː v I dʒ/ (cleavages ) N‑COUNT A woman's cleavage is the space between her breasts, especially the top part which you see if she is wearing a dress with a low neck.
cleave /kliː v/ (cleaves , cleaving ) The past tense can be either cleaved or clove ; the past participle can be cleaved , cloven , or cleft for meaning 1 , and is cleaved for meaning 2 . 1 VERB To cleave something means to split or divide it into two separate parts, often violently. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] They just cleave the stone along the cracks.
2 VERB If someone cleaves to something or to someone else, they begin or continue to have strong feelings of loyalty towards them. [FORMAL ] □ [V + to ] She has cleaved to these principles all her life.
cleav|er /kliː və r / (cleavers ) N‑COUNT A cleaver is a knife with a large square blade, used for chopping meat or vegetables. □ …a meat cleaver.