sweeping
Americanadjective
-
of wide range or scope.
- Synonyms:
- comprehensive, broad, extensive
-
moving or passing about over a wide area.
a sweeping glance.
-
moving, driving, or passing steadily and forcibly on.
-
(of the outcome of a contest) decisive; overwhelming; complete.
a sweeping victory.
adjective
-
comprehensive and wide-ranging
sweeping reforms
-
indiscriminate or without reservations
sweeping statements
-
decisive or overwhelming
a sweeping victory
-
taking in a wide area
a sweeping glance
-
driving steadily onwards, esp over a large area
a sweeping attack
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sweeping
Explanation
Something that's sweeping is wide-ranging or thorough. A political candidate might campaign on promises to bring sweeping change to a country. Sweeping things can be extensive, like the sweeping powers a president has in a dictatorship, or curving, like the sweeping motion a dancer makes with his arm. Sweeping can also mean "overly broad," so if you make a sweeping generalization, you take a general idea or rule and apply it too widely, without allowing any exceptions to it.
Vocabulary lists containing sweeping
Spy School
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Lesson 5
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The Lion of Mars
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was a difficult day for the broader market, as Quantinuum’s first full trading session coincided with a hotter-than-expected U.S. jobs report and a sweeping selloff in tech stocks.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
Last year, Allen came under fire after announcing sweeping cuts at about two dozen local affiliates that included laying off meteorologists, part of a reorganization to centralize forecasts at the Weather Channel in Atlanta.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
From the rooftop terrace of a hotel, Fede Fuster looks out across Benidorm, at the nearby high-rise buildings and the town's famous, sweeping beach.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
In April, the Justice Department revealed sweeping criminal charges against prominent members of Sheinbaum’s Morena party, including Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya of Sinaloa.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
He walked back to the doorway, his hands sweeping over the field.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
