# clearance

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈklɪəɹən(t)s/ · frequency rank #7,540

## Definitions
1. The act of clearing or something (such as a space) cleared.
2. The distance between two moving objects, especially between parts of a machine
3. The height or width of a tunnel, bridge or other passage, or the distance between a vehicle and the walls or roof of such passage; a gap, headroom.
4. A permission for a vehicle to proceed, or for a person to travel.
5. A permission to have access to sensitive or secret documents or other information.
6. A permission to use something, usually intellectual property, that is legally, but not otherwise, protected.
7. A sale of merchandise, especially at significantly reduced prices, usually in order to make room for new merchandise or updated versions of the same merchandise; sometimes as a closeout.
8. The settlement of transactions involving securities or means of payment such as checks by means of a clearing house.
9. The removal of harmful substances from the blood; renal clearance.
10. The act of potting all the remaining balls on a table at one visit.
11. The act of kicking a ball away from the goal one is defending.
12. Removal of pieces from a rank, file or diagonal so that a bishop, rook or queen is free to move along it.
13. Clear or net profit.
14. The first disposal in a chain that leaves the area of a stoppage, or a disposal that leaves the area of a stoppage itself.
15. The act of leaving the area of a stoppage.

## Etymology
From clear + -ance.

## Easily confused with
- **clarence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clarence-vs-clearance)

## Common misspellings (14)
`cclearance`, `celarance`, `claerance`, `cleaarnce`, `clearacne`, `clearancce`, `clearanec`, `clearannce`, `clearence`, `clearnace`, `clearrance`, `cleraance`, `cllearance`, `lcearance`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clearance