sweeper
Americannoun
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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.
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
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
His only notable mistake was an elevated sweeper he threw in the third inning to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that was deposited over the left-field wall for a two-run home run.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 29, 2025
It was incredible to him that any reasonably informed human did not know about the sweeper.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
