broom

[ broom, broom ]

/ brum, brʊm /

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See synonyms for: broom / broomed / brooming on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

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.

Building Trades. the crushed and spread part at the head of a wooden pile after driving.

verb (used with object)

to sweep: Broom the porch.

to splinter or fray mechanically.

to crush and spread the top of (a piling, tent peg, etc.) by pounding or driving with a hammer or the like.

to brush (freshly poured concrete) with a broom to give a nonskid surface, as to walks or driveways.

verb (used without object)

(of a piling, tent peg, etc.) to be crushed and spread at the top from being driven.

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Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

The Sunflower State

The Evergreen State

The Magnolia State

The Mockingbird State

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Origin of broom

before 1000; Middle English brome,Old English brōm; cognate with Dutch braam bramble, German Bram broom

pronunciation note for broom

Broom and room occur with the vowel [oo] /u/ of fool or [oo] /ʊ/ of book. The first is the more common. The pronunciation with the [oo] /ʊ/ of book is found in New England, eastern Virginia, and South Carolina and Georgia alongside the [oo] /u/ pronunciation. Farther west the [oo] /u/ 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 [oo] /ʊ/ predominates in the eastern counties, [oo] /u/ everywhere else. London lies on the boundary between the two types, and it is thus not surprising that [oo] /ʊ/ is found in the United States in the coastal areas that had long and close contact with England.

Words nearby broom

Brooks, Brooks Range, brook trout, brookweed, brooky, broom, broomball, broom board, broomcorn, Broomfield, broomrape

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for broom

Before I knew it, I began to hang my mop, duster, broom and more on the hooks on the coat rack.
Hints From Heloise: Car decals give thieves too much information|Heloise Heloise|March 5, 2021|Washington Post
Many critics saw links between her broad strokes — some of them made with brushes so big they invited comparisons to brooms — and the bars of color often used by abstract expressionists.
Toko Shinoda, Japanese artist who merged the age-old and the avant-garde, dies at 107|Emily Langer|March 4, 2021|Washington Post
The idea that blends are just “diluted malts” was born and has contributed to its lasting image problem, Broom says.
Don't Be a Single-Malt Scotch Snob|Kayleigh Kulp|August 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is the “glue that holds often flaky single malts together,” as Broom puts it.
Don't Be a Single-Malt Scotch Snob|Kayleigh Kulp|August 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We sat in his dimly lit office—no bigger than a broom closet—where we commiserated over the current state of American medicine.
I Got a Weed License in Minutes|Daniela Drake|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Silently, he moves to grab a kombo (a whisk broom instrument)—then, softly, he taps her shoulders and head.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction|Abby Haglage|May 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The blood rushed to my head, but I only answered, “A new broom sweeps clean.”
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At last a servant-girl came to the open door with a broom in her hand to survey the aspect of things in general.
The Garret and the Garden|R.M. Ballantyne
And the boy waited with the new broom in his hand, expecting every moment to see the door opened from the outside.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
A broken broom, covered with very ancient cobwebs, lay under one manger, and the remnants of a stable-bucket under another.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries|Charles G. Harper
Suddenly Randulf's housekeeper fell upon them with a broom, and the boys scampered away, amidst shouts and laughter.
Skipper Worse|Alexander Lange Kielland
It is easy to see that such moving dams of ice may sweep the bed of a river as with a great broom.
Outlines of the Earth's History|Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

British Dictionary definitions for broom

broom

/ (bruːm, brʊm) /

noun

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

any of various yellow-flowered Eurasian leguminous shrubs of the genera Cytisus, Genista, and Spartium, esp C. scoparius

any of various similar Eurasian plants of the related genera Genista and Spartium

new broom a newly appointed official, etc, eager to make changes

verb

(tr) to sweep with a broom

Word Origin for broom

Old English brōm; related to Old High German brāmo, Middle Dutch bremme

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with broom

broom

see new broom sweeps clean.

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broom

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Origin of broom

pronunciation note for broom

Words nearby broom

Example sentences from the Web for broom

British Dictionary definitions for broom

noun

verb

Word Origin for broom

Idioms and Phrases with broom

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

broom

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Origin of broom

pronunciation note for broom

Words nearby broom

Words related to broom

Example sentences from the Web for broom

British Dictionary definitions for broom

noun

verb

Word Origin for broom

Idioms and Phrases with broom