What does the 'clear' property do in CSS?

The 'clear' property in CSS is used to control the behavior of floated elements. When you apply the 'clear' property to an element, it specifies that no floating elements should be allowed to the left, right, or both sides of that element. This means that the element with the 'clear' property will be pushed down below any preceding floated elements, thereby preventing them from overlapping or interfering with the layout.

This property is particularly useful in creating well-structured layouts and ensuring that elements do not collide unexpectedly when floated layouts are used, such as in a multi-column design or when images are floated within text. Clearfix techniques often utilize the 'clear' property to manage how containers respond to their floated children.

For the other choices, while hiding an element and resetting margins are common styling tasks in CSS, they do not relate to the specific functionality of the 'clear' property. Aligning text within an element deals with text properties and positioning, which is also not connected to how the 'clear' property functions in relation to floated elements.