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View synonyms for sweep

sweep

1

[ sweep ]

verb (used with object)

, swept, sweep·ing.
  1. to move or remove (dust, dirt, etc.) with or as if with a broom, brush, or the like.
  2. to clear or clean (a floor, room, chimney, etc.) of dirt, litter, or the like, by means of a broom or brush.
  3. to drive or carry by some steady force, as of a wind or wave:

    The wind swept the snow into drifts.

  4. to pass or draw (something) over a surface with a continuous stroke or movement:

    The painter swept a brush over his canvas.

  5. to make (a path, opening, etc.) by clearing a space with or as if with a broom.
  6. to clear (a surface, place, etc.) of something on or in it (often followed by of ):

    to sweep a sea of enemy ships.

  7. to pass over (a surface, region, etc.) with a steady, driving movement or unimpeded course, as winds, floods, etc.:

    sandstorms sweeping the plains.

  8. to search (an area or building) thoroughly:

    Soldiers swept the town, looking for deserters.

  9. to pass the gaze, eyes, etc., over (a region, area, etc.):

    His eyes swept the countryside.

  10. to direct (the eyes, gaze, etc.) over a region, surface, or the like:

    He swept his eyes over the countryside.

  11. to examine electronically, as to search for a hidden listening device.
  12. to win a complete or overwhelming victory in (a contest):

    Johnson swept the presidential election of 1964.

  13. to win (every game, round, hand, etc., of a series of contests):

    The Yankees swept the three-game series.

  14. Music.
    1. to pass the fingers or bow over (a musical instrument, its strings or keys, etc.), as in playing.
    2. to bring forth (music) thus.


verb (used without object)

, swept, sweep·ing.
  1. to sweep a floor, room, etc., with or as if with a broom:

    The new broom sweeps well.

  2. to move steadily and strongly or swiftly (usually followed by along, down, by, into, etc.).
  3. to move or pass in a swift but stately manner:

    Proudly, she swept from the room.

  4. to move, pass, or extend in a continuous course, especially a wide curve or circuit:

    His glance swept around the room.

  5. to conduct an underwater search by towing a drag under the surface of the water.
  6. Aeronautics. (of an airfoil or its leading or trailing edge) to project from the fuselage at an angle rearward or forward of a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft.

noun

  1. the act of sweeping, especially a moving, removing, clearing, etc., by or as if by the use of a broom:

    to give the house a good sweep.

  2. the steady, driving motion or swift onward course of something moving with force or without interruption:

    the sweep of the wind and the waves.

  3. an examination by electronic detection devices of a room or building to determine the presence of hidden listening devices.
  4. a swinging or curving movement or stroke, as of the arm, a weapon, an oar, etc.
  5. reach, range, or compass, as of something sweeping about:

    the sweep of a road about a marsh.

  6. a continuous extent or stretch:

    a broad sweep of sand.

  7. a curving, especially widely or gently curving, line, form, part, or mass.
  8. matter removed or gathered by sweeping.
  9. Also called well sweep. a leverlike device for raising or lowering a bucket in a well.
  10. a large oar used in small vessels, sometimes to assist the rudder or to propel the craft.
  11. an overwhelming victory in a contest.
  12. a winning of all the games, rounds, hands, prizes, etc., in a contest by one contestant.
  13. Football. end run ( def 1 ).
  14. one of the sails of a windmill.
  15. Agriculture. any of the detachable triangular blades on a cultivator.
  16. Chiefly British. a person employed to clean by sweeping, especially a chimney sweeper.
  17. Cards.
    1. Whist. the winning of all the tricks in a hand. Compare slam 2( def 1 ).
    2. Casino. a pairing or combining, and hence taking, of all the cards on the board.
  18. Physics. an irreversible process tending towards thermal equilibrium.

sweep

2

[ sweep ]

noun

, Slang.
  1. a sweepstakes.

sweep

/ swiːp /

verb

  1. to clean or clear (a space, chimney, etc) with a brush, broom, etc
  2. often foll by up to remove or collect (dirt, rubbish, etc) with a brush, broom, etc
  3. to move in a smooth or continuous manner, esp quickly or forcibly

    cars swept along the road

  4. to move in a proud or dignified fashion

    she swept past

  5. to spread or pass rapidly across, through, or along (a region, area, etc)

    the news swept through the town

  6. tr to direct (the gaze, line of fire, etc) over; survey
  7. tr; foll by away or off to overwhelm emotionally

    she was swept away by his charm

  8. tr to brush or lightly touch (a surface, etc)

    the dress swept along the ground

  9. troften foll byaway to convey, clear, or abolish, esp with strong or continuous movements

    secondary modern schools were swept away

    the sea swept the sandcastle away

  10. intr to extend gracefully or majestically, esp in a wide circle

    the plains sweep down to the sea

  11. to search (a body of water) for mines, etc, by dragging
  12. to search (a room, area, etc) electronically to detect spying devices
  13. tr to win overwhelmingly, esp in an election

    Labour swept the country

  14. cricket to play (a ball) with a sweep
  15. tr to propel (a boat) with sweeps
  16. sweep something under the carpet or sweep something under the rug
    to conceal (something, esp a problem) in the hope that it will be overlooked by others
  17. sweep the board
    1. (in gambling) to win all the cards or money
    2. to win every event or prize in a contest
“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


noun

  1. the act or an instance of sweeping; removal by or as if by a brush or broom
  2. a swift or steady movement, esp in an arc

    with a sweep of his arms

  3. the distance, arc, etc, through which something, such as a pendulum, moves
  4. a wide expanse or scope

    the sweep of the plains

  5. any curving line or contour
  6. cards
    1. the winning of every trick in a hand of whist
    2. the taking, by pairing, of all exposed cards in cassino
  7. short for sweepstake
  8. cricket a shot in which the ball is hit more or less square on the leg side from a half-kneeling position with the bat held nearly horizontal
    1. a long oar used on an open boat
    2. a person steering a surf boat with such an oar
  9. any of the sails of a windmill
  10. electronics a steady horizontal or circular movement of an electron beam across or around the fluorescent screen of a cathode-ray tube
  11. agriculture
    1. a rakelike attachment for the front of a motor vehicle for pushing hay into piles
    2. a triangular blade on a cultivator used to cut through roots below the surface of the soil
  12. a curving driveway
  13. another name for swipe
  14. clean sweep
    1. an overwhelming victory or success
    2. a complete change; purge

      to make a clean sweep

“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈsweepy, adjective
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Other Words From

  • sweepa·ble adjective
  • un·sweepa·ble adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of sweep1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English swepen (verb); compare Old English geswēpa “sweepings,” derivative of swāpan “to sweep” or directly from obsolete English swope ); cognate with German schweifen

Origin of sweep2

By shortening
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Word History and Origins

Origin of sweep1

C13 swepen; related to Old English swāpan, Old Norse sveipa; see swipe , swoop
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Idioms and Phrases

  • make a clean sweep
  • new broom sweeps clean
  • (sweep) off someone's feet
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Example Sentences

Unless it’s a clean sweep by the Democrats, none of this will happen.

From Fortune

The chytrid pandemic was selecting frogs based on their microbes—a selective sweep in which amphibians harboring one microbial community survived above all others.

This gravel handlebar keeps the controls in the same neutral position as a standard road handlebar and creates sweep below the controls for a wider, more confident hand position when riding in the drops.

There’s also no evidence that a single sweep of the virus through the population would lead to herd immunity, says Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health.

Although several players have gotten close, and several others seem like they’ve played for every single team in a league, there are surprisingly few who have made a clean sweep of a given division.

Decorative yes, but a daily handbag that will sweep through the closets of women worldwide?

In the long sweep of LGBT equality, it could have stood as a seminal moment.

The “24-hour news cycle” just makes them harder to sweep under the rug and ignore.

It was a street-sweep, and violence had broken out, and the government was cracking down.

The remains were shipped to Fiji just as the war was about to sweep the region.

To talk German was beyond the sweep of my dizziest ambition, but an Italian runner or porter instantly presented himself.

He walked up the sweep of sandy drive to the hotel and went through the big glass doors.

Thenceforth, it ebbed, though it raged madly for a while in the effort to sweep away the obstruction.

And then if the ghost of a chimney-sweep were to appear—and why not the spirit of a sweep as well as anybody else?

It is otherwise with the people who dwell upon the land over which these atmospheric convulsions sweep.

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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.

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