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cleft
desk 8 (of time) free from (other) planned activity: I see that
next week is clear: let's meet then. | We have three clear weeks
in which to finish the job. 9 [(of)] free from guilt or blame;
untroubled: with a clear conscience 10 [A; after n] tech (espe-
cially of wages or profit) remaining after all taxes etc, have
been paid; NET: I get a clear £200 a week. | I get £200 a week
clear. 11 (as) clear as mud used in order to say that
something is not at all clear or easy to understand: What the
politicians actually mean is still as clear as mud – their words
are open to so many different interpretations. | Ideally you
need some one-to-one tuition on your PC, once you have had
time to work out which bits are clear as daylight and which
are clear as mud. —ness n [U] → see also ALL CLEAR,
CLARITY, CLEARLY, the coast is clear (COAST)
clear² adv 1 in a clear manner: The signal is coming in loud
and clear. 2 [(of)] out of the way; so as to be no longer
inside or near: She jumped clear (of the train). | When I get
clear of (=repay) my debts, I'm going to go for a long holi-
day. 3 [+adv/prep] completely; all the way: You can see clear to
the mountains today! → see also steer clear of (STEER)
clear³ v 1 [I;T(of)] to (cause to) become clear: After the storm
the sky cleared. | This soap should help clear your skin (of
spots). 2 [T[AWAY, from, off]] to remove (anything that blocks,
covers, or prevents movement) from (a place): I'll just clear
all my papers off the table. | Will you clear the dinner plates
away/clear the table? | Police cleared the crowd/cleared the
area close to the explosion. | Snowploughs have been out
clearing the roads. | He cleared his throat before beginning
to speak. | (fig.) This agreement will clear the way for further
talks. 3 [T(of)] to show or declare to be free from blame or
guilt: He's been cleared of murdering the old lady. 4 [T(with)]
a) to give or get official permission to or
for: The plans for the new road have not yet been cleared by the
local council. | The plane took off as soon as it was cleared. |
You can't begin the project until you've cleared it with the
authorities. b) to satisfy all the official conditions of: The
car cleared customs and was soon across the border. 5 [T] to
pass by or over (something) without touching: The horse
easily cleared the fence. 6 [T] to repay (a debt) in
full 7 [I;T] a) to pass (a cheque) from one bank to another
through a CLEARINGHOUSE b) (of a cheque) to pass in this
way: It will take four days for your cheque to clear. 8 [T] infml
to earn (more than the stated sum of money): She clears
£20,000 a year easily. 9 [T] tech to discover the meaning of (a
message in a secret language); DECODE 10 clear the air to
remove doubt and bad feeling by honest explana-
tion 11 clear the decks infml to get ready for action: Let's
clear the decks and start work.
clear off phr v [I] infml to leave a place, often quickly: Clear
off before I call the police!
clear out phr v 1 [I(of)] infml to leave, especially a building or
enclosed space, often quickly 2 [T[clear sthg. ↔ out]] a) to
collect and throw away (unwanted objects): to clear out all
one's old clothes b) to empty or make clear of unwanted
objects, dirt etc: I wish you'd clear out your drawers – they're
full of junk. → see also CLEAROUT
clear up phr v 1 [T[clear sthg. ↔ up]] to find an answer to;
explain: to clear up a mystery | a murder case that was never
cleared up 2 [I;T(= clear sthg. ↔ up)] to put in order; tidy up;
finish: I've got a big backlog of work to clear up by the
weekend. | Don't expect me to clear up after you (=tidy your
things) all the time! 3 [I] to become less bad or come to an
end: I hope the weather clears up before Sunday.
clear⁴ n in the clear infml free from danger, guilt, debt etc:
The police have gone so we're in the clear.
clear·ance /'klɪərəns/ n 1 [C;U] the act of clearing or fact of
being cleared (especially CLEAR: Clearance of this cheque
could take a week. | The ship sailed as soon as it got
clearance. | a programme of slum clearance (=getting rid of
old houses) → see also CLEARANCES 2 [C;U] the distance
between one object and another passing beneath or beside
it: The clearance between the bridge and the top of the bus was
only ten centimetres. 3 [U] also security clearance — official
acceptance, especially after some kind of examination, that
a person can be depended on not to tell government secrets
to an enemy: You need clearance before you can work in this
laboratory.
clear·an·ces /'klɪərənsz/ n [the+ P] the system of forcing
people to leave their homes and land in Scotland in the
18th and 19th centuries to make the land clear for sheep
farming. Many people left Scotland and went to Canada and
the US.
'clearance sale n a time when a shop sells goods cheaply
so as to get rid of as many as possible
Clea·ra·sil /'klɪərəsɪl/ trademark a type of creamy medicine
that is put on the skin to stop ACNE (=spots, especially on the
face), sold in the US and the UK
,clear-'cut adj 1 clear in shape; DISTINCT: the clear-cut outline
of the mountains against the sky 2 clear in meaning; DEFINI-
TE: clear-cut plans for future expansion
,clear-'headed adj showing clear understanding; not con-
fused: a clear-headed decision —ly adv —ness n [U]
clear·ing /'klɪərɪŋ/ n 1 [C] a usually small area of land
cleared of trees and bushes: a clearing in the forest/jun-
gle 2 [U] (in Britain) the process of finding places at univer-
sities, used by students who have not done as well as
expected in their A-level examinations. Usually, students are
offered places before the results of their examinations are
known, but they are only able to accept the place if their
results are good enough. If their results are not good
enough, they use the clearing system, in which they try to
find a university that will accept them.
'clearing bank n (in Britain) a bank that handles the
financial deals of companies and other people and is a
member of the London Bankers' Clearing House
clear·ing·house /'klɪərɪŋˌhaʊs/ n pl. -houses /ˌhaʊzɪz/ a
place where banks exchange cheques and settle their
accounts
clear·ly /'klɪəli||'klɪərli/ adv 1 in a clear manner, especially
in a way that is easy to hear, read, or understand: to explain
something clearly/speak clearly | The bottle was clearly
labelled. 2 undoubtedly; plainly: That's clearly a mistake. |
Clearly, there will have to be an inquiry about this.
clear·out /'klɪəraʊt/ n [S] infml, especially BrE an act of clearing
something out (CLEAR out): We gave the house a good clearout
today.
,clear-'sighted adj 1 able to see clearly 2 able to make good
judgments about the future —ly adv —ness n [U]
clear·way /'klɪəwe||'klɪər-/ n especially BrE a stretch of road
which is not a MOTORWAY but on which cars can only stop
when in difficulties
Cleery, Bev·er·ly /'klɪəri, 'bevərli||-ər-/ (1916–) an Ameri-
can writer of popular children's books, whose characters
include Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph S.
Mouse, and whose books include Beezus and Ramona, Henry
and the Clubhouse, and Dear Mr. Henshaw
cleat /kli:t/ n 1 [usually pl.] any of several pieces of rubber, iron
etc fastened to the SOLE (=the bottom) of a shoe to prevent
slipping 2 a small bar with two short arms around which
ropes can be tied, especially on a ship
cleav·age /'kli:vɪdʒ/ n [C;U] 1 a break caused by splitting;
division: a sharp cleavage in society between rich and
poor 2 the space between a woman's breasts, especially that
which can be seen when she is wearing a low-cut dress
cleave /kli:v/ v cleaved or cleft /kleft/ or clove /kləʊv/,
cleaved or cleft or cloven /'kləʊvən/ [T+obj+adv/prep] lit or old
use to divide or separate by a cutting blow
cleave to sbdy./sthg. phr v cleaved to or clove to [T] lit or old
use 1 to remain loyal or faithful to (a person, belief, custom
etc) 2 to stick to (something else)
cleav·er /'kli:və/ n a heavy tool, used especially by BUTCH-
ERS for cutting up large pieces of meat → see picture at
KNIFE
Cleese, John /kli:z/ (1939–) a British television and film
actor who first became famous as one of the main characters
in Monty Python's Flying Circus, and later as the hotel
owner Basil Fawlty in the humorous television programme
Fawlty Towers. His films include A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
and since 1999 he has played the part of 'Q' in the James
Bond films. He is extremely tall, and usually plays characters
who look very normal but behave in strange and amusing
ways.
clef /klef/ n a sign put at the beginning of a line of written
music to show the PITCH of the notes: a treble/bass clef
cleft¹ /kleft/ n a crack, opening, or split: a cleft in the rocks