clearance

Noun
US[klir-uhns]/ˈklɪrəns/2 syllables
Synonyms: headroomheadway

Open English WordNet

Noun (3)clearances

  1. the distance by which one thing clears another; the space between themType of interval, separation
  2. vertical space available to allow easy passage under somethingSynonyms: headroomheadwayType of room, way
  3. permission to proceed“the plane was given clearance to land”Type of license, permission
Word of the day · Sep 28About this word
onerousadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Clear′ance (klēr′ans), noun

1. The act of clearing; as, to make a thorough clearance.

2. A certificate that a ship or vessel has been cleared at the customhouse; permission to sail.

Every ship was subject to seizure for want of stamped clearances.— Durke

3. Clear or net profit. Trollope.

4. Machinery The distance by which one object clears another, as the distance between the piston and cylinder head at the end of a stroke in a steam engine, or the least distance between the point of a cogwheel tooth and the bottom of a space between teeth of a wheel with which it engages.

Clearance space Steam engine, the space inclosed in one end of the cylinder, between the valve or valves and the piston, at the beginning of a stroke; waste room. It includes the space caused by the piston's clearance and the space in ports, passageways, etc. Its volume is often expressed as a certain proportion of the volume swept by the piston in a single stroke.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Advertisement