broom
Americannoun
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brooms
plural
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an implement for sweeping, consisting of a brush of straw or stiff strands of synthetic material bound tightly to the end of a long handle.
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any shrubby plant belonging to the genus Genista or the genus Cytisus, of the legume family, especially C. scoparius, common in Western Europe on uncultivated ground and having long, slender branches bearing yellow flowers.
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Building Trades. the crushed and spread part at the head of a wooden pile after driving.
verb (used with object)
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to sweep.
Broom the porch.
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to splinter or fray mechanically.
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to crush and spread the top of (a piling, tent peg, etc.) by pounding or driving with a hammer or the like.
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to brush (freshly poured concrete) with a broom to give a nonskid surface, as to walks or driveways.
verb (used without object)
noun
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an implement for sweeping consisting of a long handle to which is attached either a brush of straw, bristles, or twigs, bound together, or a solid head into which are set tufts of bristles or fibres
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any of various yellow-flowered Eurasian leguminous shrubs of the genera Cytisus , Genista , and Spartium , esp C. scoparius
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any of various similar Eurasian plants of the related genera Genista and Spartium
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a newly appointed official, etc, eager to make changes
verb
Pronunciation
Broom and room occur with the vowel of fool or of book. The first is the more common. The pronunciation with the of book is found in New England, eastern Virginia, and South Carolina and Georgia alongside the pronunciation. Farther west the pronunciation is more common, though the pronunciation with the vowel of book occurs everywhere with no marked regional or social pattern. Both pronunciations occur in British standard and folk speech. The pronunciation with predominates in the eastern counties, everywhere else. London lies on the boundary between the two types, and it is thus not surprising that is found in the United States in the coastal areas that had long and close contact with England.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of broom
before 1000; Middle English brome, Old English brōm; cognate with Dutch braam bramble, German Bram broom
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.
See Examples For:
Miller, a 41-year-old design technician for a steel company in Linn, Mo., also made a protective cap for the sharp end of his garage push broom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Some predicted they would be swept, but they could be doing the broom bit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
"We used big chisels on the end of broom handles. A bit like gardening hoes. You use those to stab at it and shave stuff way," explained Roche.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
Purple, savoy and green cabbage are also high in insoluble fiber, which Beitchman says is “the broom of the digestive system,” allowing waste to pass through more easily.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2026
Boaz, meanwhile, wielded the broom with surprising efficacy.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
"My grandfather sold brooms out of the back of a van," he says, recalling riding with him as young boy, as they would travel to sell cleaning equipment.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
The case was closed without further action by public health inspectors after the on-site manager clarified that only janitorial staff handle brooms and mops, and chefs and cooks do not, according to the report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
A few distant screeches of brooms on cobblestone, that’s all.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
“We put in a pantry with a giant divider down the side. Half of it has pullout shelves for food storage, and the other half can hold things like brooms and vacuums.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2024
Photographs of the children show a sweet if sober bunch who seem ready at a moment’s notice to swing into action with brooms and dishcloths.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
