clean sweep
Americannoun
-
an overwhelming or decisive victory, as by a political candidate who wins in all or almost all election districts.
-
the winning of all the prizes, rounds, contests, etc., in a competition or of all the games in a series.
-
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.
Although it raises the prospect that Burnham could secure a clean sweep of union support, Unite said its future support for his premiership would be conditional upon action for "workers and communities".
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Surely someone would have carried the can if the away Ashes had been lost 5-0, a clean sweep avoided when England scraped a win in Melbourne.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Bordeaux Begles' demolition job over Leinster completed the European clean sweep for French men's rugby teams.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
"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
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.
