sweep
verb (used with object)
to move or remove (dust, dirt, etc.) with or as if with a broom, brush, or the like.
have been sweeping
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present perfect progressiveof sweep.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
Going to the hospital, though, for protesters wounded at the antigovernment demonstrations that have been sweeping Iran, would mean almost certain arrest.
From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2022
Over the last few years, there have been sweeping cuts to indigenous protection budgets.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2022
The staffing ambitions of the nation’s second-largest school district have been sweeping — targeting hires to meet academic needs, mental and physical wellness and campus sanitation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2021
The county was not immune to the changes that have been sweeping the country in the past year.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2021
The walls, that should have been sweeping and clean, were adorned with gaudily framed pictures which in themselves were dim and drab from many summers' accumulation of dust.
From The Strength of the Pines by Edison Marshall
