noun
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a broom, esp one made of a bundle of twigs tied to a handle
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curling a broom or brush used to sweep the ice in front of the stone to make it slide farther
verb
noun
Etymology
Origin of besom
before 1000; Middle English besem, Old English bes ( e ) ma; cognate with Dutch bezem, German Besen
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.
Her chariot was a mortar, which she pushed with a pestle, using her besom to erase her singular track.
From Time Magazine Archive
There was a flicker like green fire in his eyes, and his beard stood out stiff as a great besom.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
The king’s áferoch had been busy since early morn, and every thing had been swept with the besom of destruction.
From The Highlands of Ethiopia by Harris, William Cornwallis
We dwell in a region of the earth, seldom touched by this besom of destruction.
From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old
Taking an easterly direction towards Fantáli, we passed numerous well-peopled hamlets, occupying all the secluded nooks, and as wealthy in flocks and herds as if the Amhára besom had never swept the land.
From The Highlands of Ethiopia by Harris, William Cornwallis
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.
