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
I then endeavoured to remove the dish with the stable besom.
From Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Gordon Stables
This was the besom with which they had swept the holy house, the Caaba, and the Beth Alla.
From Voltaire's Romances, Complete in One Volume by
There had been a little variance in the "besom of destruction" which operated in favor of that mysterious cat.
From A Breeze from the Woods, 2nd Ed. by William Chauncey Bartlett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
