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clearance

clearance

9 3.0
The height under something that lets people or vehicles pass
  • noun
  • /ˈklɪrənss/
translation icon : altura libre
  • The peaked roof will have an 8.5-foot clearance and be 15 feet wide and 48 feet long.
  • foot clearance
  • sway clearance
  • clearance levels

So drop foot is when you don't get clearance off the off the floor very well.

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Examples

  • The new parking garage has a clearance of 8 feet, which fits most vehicles comfortably.

  • We've ridden through culverts under interstate highways where I had less than two inches of clearance between my head.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • You need 40 feet of clearance around all sides to work.

    Timeline (2003)

  • You got a clearance of six feet.

    Dreamgirls (2006)

  • Under Florida law, motorists must provide at least 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicyclist.

    Academic text (2012)

  • You need at least 30-inch clearance on both sides, and you've got a little under two feet.

    The Best of Enemies (2019)

  • With the large tires and high ground clearance, there's just enough room to get his legs over the rear axle.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The confining shaft barely allowed clearance for the ore bucket.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The Series CHIE horizontal multistage centrifugal pump is designed for applications where limited vertical clearance is an issue.

    Academic text (1997)

  • A 3/8-inch clearance was provided between the upper edges of the struts and the underside of the soundboard.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

space
vsclearance
∞ 1.0

An empty area available for use

is about a vertical gap under objects for safe passage rather than a general area
headroom
vsclearance
2 4.6

The space above your head in a room or car that lets you stand comfortably

is focused on vertical gap for safety rather than comfort or ease
headway
vsclearance
  • Specialized
1 6.7

Space above the road under a bridge or roof that lets tall vehicles pass

is the amount of vertical gap aimed at safe passage rather than technical measure

Antonyms

obstruction
43 4.4

A thing that blocks a passage like a pipe or artery

Compounds

clearance sale
4 2.1

A sale when a shop sells many items at low prices to make room for new stock

inventory-clearance sale
3.3

A shop event to sell old or extra items at low prices

How Low

sag
13 4.3
drape
9 4.0
clearance
9 3.0

Surface Forms

clearance singular
clearances plural

Morphology

clearance = clear (transparent) = clear + ance

This sense (vertical space available) is the same spatial extension of 'clear' + '-ance' and is straightforward for learners.

Etymology

Clearance comes from the idea of clear meaning 'free from things in the way', like making room under or between objects. That is why clearance is the vertical space under something that lets people or vehicles pass safely.