# broom

Pronunciation: say "BROOM" /bɹuːm/

## Noun

1. A household tool with fibers bound together at the end of a long handle, used for sweeping floors and other surfaces.
   - Simple: A cleaning tool with stiff fibers fixed to a long handle, used to sweep floors.
   - _He reached for the broom to clear the broken glass off the floor._
   - _After the party, two brooms made quick work of the confetti._
3. Any of several yellow-flowered shrubs of the pea family, with long, stiff, thin branches and few leaves, traditionally used to make sweeping tools.
   - Simple: A bush with bright yellow flowers and thin, stiff branches, sometimes used to make sweeping tools.
   - _Wild broom spread across the dry slopes, painting them gold each spring._
   - _Gardeners often cut back the broom once it finishes flowering._
4. In curling, the brush players use to sweep the ice ahead of a moving stone.
   - Simple: A brush on a handle that curling players use to sweep the ice in front of a sliding stone.
   - _The skip shouted instructions as her teammates worked the broom along the stone's path._
   - _Modern brooms use synthetic pads instead of corn fibers._
5. Any of several yellow-flowered, broom-like shrubs that are not closely related to the true brooms of tribe Genisteae.
   - Simple: Any of several yellow-flowered shrubs that resemble true broom but belong to unrelated plant groups.
   - _The yellow broom along the riverbank belongs to a family quite distinct from the Genisteae brooms._
   - _Despite the shared name, this broom flowers from an entirely separate lineage of shrubs._
6. Any of several yellow-flowered broom shrubs of tribe Genisteae, including the genera Cytisus, Genista, and Spartium.
   - Simple: Any of the true broom shrubs, with bright yellow flowers, belonging to one closely related group of plants.
   - _The broom of the genus Genista is common across Mediterranean hillsides._
   - _Beekeepers value broom for the early nectar its flowers provide._
9. A firearm, especially a shotgun. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A gun, especially a shotgun.
   - _The gang stashed a sawed-off broom in the trunk before the heist._
   - _He racked the broom and dared anyone to step closer._

## Verb

2. To clean a floor or surface by sweeping it with a broom.
   - Simple: To sweep a floor or surface using a broom.
   - _Sweepers broom the platform every night after the last train._
   - _She broomed steadily down the long corridor._
7. To get rid of someone (such as firing an employee or breaking up with a partner) by sweeping them out of one's life.
   - Simple: To get rid of a person, like firing a worker or ending a relationship.
   - _When the company restructured, they broomed three senior directors overnight._
   - _He threatened to broom anyone who questioned his decisions._
10. To smooth a roofing membrane with a broom or squeegee so it sits firmly against the adhesive beneath it.
   - Simple: To press a roofing layer down with a broom or squeegee so it sticks firmly.
   - _The crew broomed each section to lock it onto the adhesive._
   - _Always broom the sheet before the glue begins to set._
11. Alternative form of bream (“to clean a ship's bottom”). — Alternative form of bream (“to clean a ship's bottom”).
   - Simple: Another spelling of bream, meaning to clean a ship's bottom. Used by sailors long ago.
   - _The shipwrights broom the hull, burning away barnacles and weed._
   - _Crews must broom the bottom regularly to keep the ship swift._

## Interjection

8. Alternative form of brrm, imitating the sound of a car engine. — Alternative form of brrm (“sound of a car engine”) (often used reduplicatively)
   - Simple: Another way of writing brrm, the sound of a car engine. Children often say it while playing with toy cars.
   - _Broom broom! the children shouted, steering their cars around the bend._
   - _He puffed his cheeks and made a low broom for the engine._

## Origin

This word was inherited from Middle English brom, from Old English brōm ("brushwood"), going back through Proto-West Germanic *brām ("bramble") to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem-, from a root meaning "edge." It is related to "brim" and "brink" and replaced the earlier English word "besom." The sense of a shotgun arose because it is long and held much like a besom and "cleans" what is in front of it.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/broom (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).