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:
Advancements in AI models have transformed how robots learn, allowing them to more accurately predict the next sequence of joint movements needed to lift a cup or pick up a broom.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
"This time, the water level is higher than the 2011 flood," the 44-year-old told AFP, using a broom to sweep out water.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
According to state prosecutors, Castro falsely claimed that Sosa-Celis and another man had attacked an ICE agent with a broom and shovel, and that he had simply acted in self defense.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
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
I squeaked happily while he balanced his broom on one finger, as usual.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
It was fall, and the entryway smelled aggressively of cinnamon brooms.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
Staff and volunteers, recruited with support from the council office, were about to head into nearby streets with shovels, brooms and trash bags.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
"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
A few distant screeches of brooms on cobblestone, that’s all.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
When I applied the brakes, which I did every few feet, brooms and mops ended up in the front seat.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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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.
