clean sweep
Americannoun
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an overwhelming or decisive victory, as by a political candidate who wins in all or almost all election districts.
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the winning of all the prizes, rounds, contests, etc., in a competition or of all the games in a series.
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a thorough or sweeping change, especially one effected by the large-scale removal or elimination of unwanted persons or things.
The new president made a clean sweep when he joined the company, replacing all the department heads.
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.
"It was a clean sweep with respect to liability against both Google and Meta," case attorney Jayne Conroy told the BBC after the verdict.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Gu arrived at the Games targeting a clean sweep of golds in her three events after winning two golds and a silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where she was the host nation's darling.
From Barron's • Feb. 21, 2026
While the Welsh attempt to somehow avoid a third-straight Wooden Spoon, Les Bleus are hunting a first clean sweep since 2022.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026
Gu, who was the fourth highest-paid sportswoman in the world last year according to Forbes, came to Italy hunting a clean sweep of titles.
From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026
The deep ruts in the road were frozen and glazed with ice; the wind had a clean sweep across the prairies, a sweep that sometimes seemed about to carry Jethro before it.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
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.
