adverb (or adjective)
1. : in inside measurement
corridors three feet in the clear
2. : free of resistance, obstruction, obligation, or anything that restricts or impedes action
the airplane had just passed through a squall and was in the clear
3. : free of guilt or not subject to suspicion or imputation of guilt
as for the charge of cowardice, he was now in the clear
4. : in plaintext : not in code or cipher
a message sent in the clear