sweeper
Americannoun
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a person or thing that sweeps.
-
a janitor.
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any of several fishes of the family Pempherididae, of tropical and warm, temperate seas, having an oblong, compressed body.
noun
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a person employed to sweep, such as a roadsweeper
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any device for sweeping
a carpet sweeper
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informal soccer a player who supports the main defenders, as by intercepting loose balls, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sweeper
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at sweep 1, -er 1
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:
This was the dream scenario: baseball’s very best, edgy crowd, one-run game, two outs, a title on the line—and Ohtani getting the better of his pal on a filthy 3-2 sweeper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
The Dodgers scrapped his slider, mixed in a sweeper, and told him his arm was so good that he should stop trying to make perfect pitches and just let fly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026
As the camera follows a suburban Chicago street sweeper along its early morning route, it stops at a modest house, perched on the other side of the train tracks.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026
The driver of the road sweeper, whose vehicle fell down the sinkhole, was unharmed.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
Outside the sweeper has landed on something metal, maybe a coin.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Batters across MLB put up a dismal .210 batting average against splitters last season, compared with .224 against sliders and sweepers and .225 against curveballs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
"Why do you have to meet with your team to find out whether or not you send some mine sweepers?" he added about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
The top teams will have two or three elite sweepers, whose physical profile can be significantly different to that of the skip, who won't sweep.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
The next seven Dodgers who came to the plate all also recorded outs, flailing at Skenes’ mix of four-seamers, sweepers, curveballs and changeups to allow him to quickly find a comfortable rhythm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025
My fellow sweepers back up to get out of the way, but I stay where I am, heat rushing through me as Zeke and Tori approach.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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.
