Definition of "bill of health" [bill of health]

• A certificate stating whether there is infectious disease aboard a ship or in a port of departure, given to the ship's master to present at the next port of arrival. (noun)
• Informal An attestation as to condition, especially a favorable one: gave the structure a clean bill of health in spite of its age. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.