sweeper
Americannoun
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sweepers
plural
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a person or thing that sweeps.
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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
Hardie has a reputation as a high-grade tactician and shot maker, while McMillan and Lammie are credited with reinventing the role of a sweeper.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Boori Ma, sweeper of the stairwell, had not slept in two nights.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"There is to be no hesitation," he said in a social media post, adding that US mine "sweepers" are clearing the strait "right now".
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
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
He mixed in more sweepers than usual, too, trying to negate the Blue Jays’ potent lineup with a steady dose of spin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2025
A few schoolchildren, a few milkmen and street sweepers, but otherwise, our early-morning meeting is over before I would normally even leave for work.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
