sweeping

[ swee-ping ]

/ ˈswi pɪŋ /

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See synonyms for: sweeping / sweepings / sweepingly on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of wide range or scope.

moving or passing about over a wide area: a sweeping glance.

moving, driving, or passing steadily and forcibly on.

(of the outcome of a contest) decisive; overwhelming; complete: a sweeping victory.

noun

the act of a person or thing that sweeps.

sweepings, matter swept out or up, as dust, refuse, etc.

OTHER WORDS FOR sweeping

1 extensive, broad, comprehensive.

See synonyms for sweeping on Thesaurus.com

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of sweeping

First recorded in 1470–80; sweep¹ + -ing², -ing¹

OTHER WORDS FROM sweeping

sweep·ing·ly, adverb

Words nearby sweeping

sweep account, sweepback, sweep check, sweeper, sweep hand, sweeping, sweepings, sweeping score, sweep off someone's feet, sweeps, sweep-saw

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sweeping in a sentence

These sweeping observations are, disappointingly, the most thorough analysis Ehrlich provides on climate change as a whole.
What Gretel Ehrlich Gets Wrong About Climate Change|Erin Berger|February 8, 2021|Outside Online
The big influencers on state privacy bills are Europe’s sweeping General Data Protection Regulation and California’s now-strengthened privacy law.
Cheat sheet: What to expect in state and federal privacy regulation in 2021|Kate Kaye|February 1, 2021|Digiday
It’s critical that advertisers take their exclusions seriously and understand what the implications of broad-sweeping exclusions can mean for their brands and their metrics.
Facebook testing brand safety topic exclusions for advertisers|Carolyn Lyden|January 29, 2021|Search Engine Land
The sweeping social and economic transformation that scientists say is needed to attack the problem will require a global effort.
How to stop your house’s expensive drafts — and save the planet|Sarah Kaplan|January 27, 2021|Washington Post

The distribution of funding for health care providers is just one example of complications with the sweeping $2 trillion CARES Act.
How the CARES Act Forgot America’s Most Vulnerable Hospitals|by Brianna Bailey, The Frontier|January 26, 2021|ProPublica
Two years ago in Michigan, she oversaw AFP operations to help the Republican-controlled legislature pass sweeping anti-union laws.
The Next Phase of the Koch Brothers’ War on Unions|Carl Deal and Tia Lessin|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 1695, still under an imposed silence, she died in a plague sweeping the capital.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun|Katie Baker|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The classic film that opens with a tornado sweeping through a Kansas farm made its debut 75 years ago in 1939.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: November 2|PunditFact.com|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These tensions run throughout the conference, but also throughout the “mindfulness” movement that is now sweeping America.
What If Meditation Isn’t Good for You?|Jay Michaelson|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As the Ebola epidemic began sweeping through the region, fear and mistrust of the health workers in West Point escalated.
Meet the Liberian Girls Beating Ebola|Abby Haglage|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Yes, Alessandro," she answered faintly, the gusts sweeping her voice like a distant echo past him.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
He stood aside, and bending from the waist he made a sweeping gesture towards the door with the hand that held his hat.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
“Yes; that would be indispensible,” said the baron, whose eyes were sweeping the room from corner to corner, fiercely and swiftly.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
She did shout for joy, as with a sweeping stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The wave of religious fanaticism sweeping over the land might recede as rapidly as it had risen.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for sweeping

sweeping

/ (ˈswiːpɪŋ) /

adjective

comprehensive and wide-rangingsweeping reforms

indiscriminate or without reservationssweeping statements

decisive or overwhelminga sweeping victory

taking in a wide areaa sweeping glance

driving steadily onwards, esp over a large areaa sweeping attack

Derived forms of sweeping

sweepingly, adverbsweepingness, noun

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

sweeping

OTHER WORDS FOR sweeping

Origin of sweeping

OTHER WORDS FROM sweeping

Words nearby sweeping

Words related to sweeping

How to use sweeping in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sweeping

Derived forms of sweeping