Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CLEAR, v.t.

1. To make clear; to fine; to remove any thing foreign; to separate from any foul matter; to purify; to clarify; as, to clear liquors.
2. To free from obstructions; as, to clear the road.
3. To free from any thing noxious or injurious; as, to clear the ocean of pirates; to clear the land of enemies.
4. To remove any incumbrance, or embarrassment; often followed by off or away; as, to clear off debts; to clear away rubbish.
5. To free; to liberate, or disengage; to exonerate; as, to clear a man from debt, obligation, or duty.
6. To cleanse; as, to clear the hands from filth; to clear the bowels.
7. To remove any thing that obscures, as clouds or fog; to make bright; as, to clear the sky; sometimes followed by up. – Dryden. Milton.
8. To free from obscurity, perplexity or ambiguity; as, to clear a question or theory; to clear up a case or point. – Prior.
9. To purge from the imputation of guilt; to justify or vindicate. How shall we clear ourselves? – Gen. xliv. That will by no means clear the guilty. – Ex. xxxiv.
10. In a legal sense, to acquit on trial, by verdict; as, the prisoner has been tried and cleared.
11. To make gain or profit, beyond all expenses and charges; as, to clear ten per cent. by a sale of goods, or by a voyage.
12. To remove wood from land; to cut down trees, remove or burn them, and prepare land for tillage or pasture; as, to clear land for wheat.
13. To leap over or pass by without touching, or failure; as, to clear a hedge or ditch. To clear a ship at the custom house, is to exhibit the documents required by law, give bonds or perform other acts requisite, and procure a permission to sail, and such papers as the law requires. To clear the land, in seamen's language, is to gain such a distance from shore, as to have open sea room, and be out of danger from the land. To clear the hold, is to empty or unload a ship. To clear a ship for action, or to clear for action, is to remove all incumbrances from the decks, and prepare for an engagement.