sweeper

[ swee-per ]

/ ˈswi pər /

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noun

a person or thing that sweeps.

a janitor.

any of several fishes of the family Pempherididae, of tropical and warm, temperate seas, having an oblong, compressed body.

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Origin of sweeper

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at sweep¹, -er¹

Words nearby sweeper

sweeny, sweep, sweep account, sweepback, sweep check, sweeper, sweep hand, sweeping, sweepings, sweeping score, sweep off someone's feet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sweeper in a sentence

It's as if my friend's afraid to be away from her for any length of time outside of work, even to move her car across the street for the street sweeper.
Carolyn Hax: A friend is tightly tethered to her daughter|Carolyn Hax|March 18, 2021|Washington Post
The transportation staff had moved some of the snow plows, pick-up trucks, street sweepers and other pieces of equipment normally stored in the garage to make room for the clinic.
How Drive-Through COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics Could Help Inoculate the U.S.|Alice Park|December 30, 2020|Time
Then you have these mechanical sweepers that basically sweep all the nuts off the ground and into windrows, about three feet wide, all in a big, long line on both sides of each tree.
The machines that get walnuts from trees to your mouth|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
A street sweeper was caught in the crossfire as a gunman fired at the officer, fatally wounding her in the back.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

At a pitch I could be a tolerable road-sweeper or an inefficient gardener or even a tenth-rate farm hand.
Thatcher's Economic Legacy|Megan McArdle|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His signature blue jacket is a Parisian street sweeper's smock purchased on his semi-annual trips to Paris.
Knowing Bill Cunningham|Philip Gefter|March 22, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Mr. King and Mr. Lewis walking together in Birmingham, a chimney sweeper and his boy passed them.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
A curious incident: during the night a Fleet-sweeper tied up alongside, full of wounded, chiefly Australians.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
A beau highwayman and a miserable chimney sweeper were to be hanged together at Newgate for their respective deserts.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
His back turned toward me, head bent, he hurriedly plies the broom with the quick, short stroke of the one-armed sweeper.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
I say, very nearly knocking down the old sweeper who was hobbling away as fast as posibil.
Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush|William Makepeace Thackeray

British Dictionary definitions for sweeper

sweeper

/ (ˈswiːpə) /

noun

a person employed to sweep, such as a roadsweeper

any device for sweepinga carpet sweeper

informal soccer a player who supports the main defenders, as by intercepting loose balls, etc

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

sweeper

Origin of sweeper

Words nearby sweeper

Words related to sweeper

How to use sweeper in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sweeper