- present participle of sweep.
sweeping
Americanadjective
-
of wide range or scope.
- Synonyms:
- comprehensive, broad, extensive
-
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.
adjective
-
comprehensive and wide-ranging
sweeping reforms
-
indiscriminate or without reservations
sweeping statements
-
decisive or overwhelming
a sweeping victory
-
taking in a wide area
a sweeping glance
-
driving steadily onwards, esp over a large area
a sweeping attack
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sweeping
Explanation
Something that's sweeping is wide-ranging or thorough. A political candidate might campaign on promises to bring sweeping change to a country. Sweeping things can be extensive, like the sweeping powers a president has in a dictatorship, or curving, like the sweeping motion a dancer makes with his arm. Sweeping can also mean "overly broad," so if you make a sweeping generalization, you take a general idea or rule and apply it too widely, without allowing any exceptions to it.
Vocabulary lists containing sweeping
Spy School
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Lesson 5
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The Lion of Mars
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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.
The losses are pegged to last month’s sweeping layoffs, which came amid the software provider’s attempt to streamline operations.
From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026
Former Lakers players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and bribery in sporting contests by federal prosecutors in a sweeping indictment that included four other co-conspirators.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
We'll wait and see if these sort of sweeping changes see the light of day.
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2026
Its sublime sweeping curve is the terse expression of a complex thought.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
She hated sweeping their brown, dusty corpses out of her kitchen and off her porch, but she especially hated how they followed her everywhere like a dark little cloud.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
