sweep (swiːp
)
Definitions
verb
Word forms: sweeps, sweeping, swept
- to clean or clear (a space, chimney, etc) with a brush, broom, etc
- (often foll by up) to remove or collect (dirt, rubbish, etc) with a brush, broom, etc
- to move in a smooth or continuous manner, esp quickly or forcibly ⇒
cars swept along the road
- to move in a proud or dignified fashion ⇒
she swept past
- to spread or pass rapidly across, through, or along (a region, area, etc) ⇒
the news swept through the town
- (tr) to direct (the gaze, line of fire, etc) over; survey
- (tr; foll by away or off) to overwhelm emotionally ⇒
she was swept away by his charm
- (tr) to brush or lightly touch (a surface, etc) ⇒
the dress swept along the ground
- (tr) away to convey, clear, or abolish, esp with strong or continuous movements ⇒
the sea swept the sandcastle away
secondary modern schools were swept away
- (intr) to extend gracefully or majestically, esp in a wide circle ⇒
the plains sweep down to the sea
- to search (a body of water) for mines, etc, by dragging
- to search (a room, area, etc) electronically to detect spying devices
- (tr) to win overwhelmingly, esp in an election ⇒
Labour swept the country
- cricket to play (a ball) with a sweep
- (tr) to propel (a boat) with sweeps
- See sweep something under the carpet
- See sweep the board
noun
- the act or an instance of sweeping; removal by or as if by a brush or broom
- a swift or steady movement, esp in an arc ⇒
with a sweep of his arms
- the distance, arc, etc, through which something, such as a pendulum, moves
- a wide expanse or scope ⇒
the sweep of the plains
- any curving line or contour
- cards
- the winning of every trick in a hand of whist
- the taking, by pairing, of all exposed cards in cassino
- short for sweepstake
- cricket a shot in which the ball is hit more or less square on the leg side from a half-kneeling position with the bat held nearly horizontal
- a long oar used on an open boat
- Australian a person steering a surf boat with such an oar
- any of the sails of a windmill
- electronics a steady horizontal or circular movement of an electron beam across or around the fluorescent screen of a cathode-ray tube
- agriculture
- a rakelike attachment for the front of a motor vehicle for pushing hay into piles
- a triangular blade on a cultivator used to cut through roots below the surface of the soil
- a curving driveway
- mainly British See chimney sweep
- another name for swipe (sense 6)
- See clean sweep
Alternative Forms
ˈsweepy adjectiveWord Origin
C13 swepen; related to Old English swāpan, Old Norse sveipa; see swipe, swoopSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
sail,
=
search,
check,
examination,
look,
hunt,
investigation,
going-over,
inspection,
exploration,
combing,
Translations
- British English:
sweep
If you sweep an area of ground, you push dirt or rubbish off it with a broom.She was in the kitchen sweeping crumbs into a dust pan.swiːp VERB She was in the kitchen sweeping crumbs into a dust pan.
- Spanish:
barrer
v
- French:
balayer
vt
- German:
fegen
v
- Chinese: 扫 v
- Arabic: يَكْنُسُ v
- Portuguese: varrer v
- Russian: мести v
- Croatian: mesti v
- Czech: zamést v zametat
- Danish: feje v
- Dutch: vegen v
- Finnish: lakaista v
- Greek: σκουπίζω v
- Italian: spazzare v
- Japanese: 掃く v
- Korean: 쓸다 v
- Norwegian: feie v
- Polish: rozciągnąć się v rozciągać się
- Brazilian Portuguese: varrer v
- European Spanish:
barrer
v
- Swedish: sopa v
- Thai: กวาด v
- Turkish: süpürmek v
- Vietnamese: quét v
Usage examples
I grab the mini Mag-Lite and then go back to the bathroom, where I sweep everything into the holdall.
, CHAMELEON (2002)Schopf doesn't want to sweep these difficulties under the carpet.
New Scientist (1999)The leading O'Brien contender led home a Ballydoyle clean sweep of the minor placings.
Irish Times (2002)The Herald yesterday completed a clean sweep of the UK's top awards for personal finance journalism.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Currents sweep away a thin dusting of sediment in many places.
, THE EARTH: An Intimate History (2004)