Meaning
An official assurance, after examination, that a person is healthy or that an organization, product or plan is free of fault. Originally a shipping document, it now turns up after medical check-ups, safety inspections and financial audits, and is sometimes used ironically when the all-clear proves premature. Neutral register; used as readily of audits and machinery as of medicine, sometimes ironically. Regional use: General English.
Origin
From the maritime quarantine system: a bill of health was a certificate stating the health status of a ship's crew and of the port it had left. A clean bill, carrying the visa of the consul of the arriving country, entitled a ship to free pratique, that is, use of the port without quarantine; a foul (or touched) bill indicated plague or epidemic at the point of departure and meant detention at the lazaretto. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest evidence for 'bill of health' is the travel writer Thomas Coryate in 1611, with nautical and medical senses developing in the early 1600s. As quarantine enforcement peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries the document became familiar on every quayside, and the phrase passed into general use for any favourable verdict after inspection.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- a clean bill
- get a clean bill of health
- give something a clean bill of health
- receive a clean bill of health
Usage Examples
- After months of tests, the cardiologist finally gave her a clean bill of health.
- The reactor passed its annual safety review with a clean bill of health from the regulator.
- Auditors stopped short of a clean bill of health, flagging weak controls in the payroll department.