sweep

SaySWEEP/swip/UK/swiːp/

Noun pluralsweeps

42 meanings of sweep

1
verbtransitive
To clean a floor or surface using a broom or brush.
Like pushing dust into one spot so you can pick it up.
She swept the kitchen floor before dinner.
Sweep the porch when the leaves start to fall.
Similarbrush
Note
2
verbtransitive
To move something across a space or through the air in one long motion.
Like swinging a broom in one big arc from one side to the other.
She swept her arm across the table to clear the crumbs.
Sweep your hand over the sensor to turn on the light.
Similarswing
Note
3
verbintransitive
To move in a long, smooth curve across a space or through the air.
Like the second hand on a clock moving smoothly around the dial.
The searchlight swept across the night sky.
The big doors sweep open at the touch of a button.
Similarswing
Note
4
verbtransitive
To remove something quickly and completely.
Like a big wave that clears everything off the beach at once.
The flood swept the bridge away in seconds.
Strong winds sweep the leaves off the rooftops.
Similarcarry, wash
Note
5
nouncountable
One movement of a broom, brush, or hand across something.
Like one swing of your arm to brush crumbs off a table.
With one sweep of the broom, she cleared the step.
He knocked the papers off the desk with a single sweep of his arm.
Similarstroke, swipe
Note
6
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To move quickly and smoothly across or through a place.
Like a strong wind moving fast across an open field.
The train swept through the valley at high speed.
Storms sweep across the plains every spring.
Similarglide, speed
Note
7
verbtransitive
To search a place carefully and completely.
Like checking every room one by one so you miss nothing.
Police swept the building looking for the missing child.
Soldiers sweep the area for hidden dangers.
Similarsearch, comb, scour
8
nouncountable
A careful search of a place to find hidden listening devices.
Like checking every corner of a room to find something someone hid on purpose.
The security team did a sweep of the office before the meeting.
They ordered a sweep to check for hidden microphones.
Similarsearch, check
9
verbtransitive
To win every game in a series, with no losses or ties.
Like winning every round of a game without losing once.
Our team swept the playoff series in four straight games.
If they win tonight, they sweep the finals.
Note
10
verbtransitive
To beat a team in every game of a series, with no losses or ties.
Like beating someone in every single round, never letting them win once.
We swept our rivals in the semifinal series.
A strong start could let them sweep the visiting team.
Note

11
nouncountable
A person whose job is to clean the inside of chimneys.
Like a cleaner, but for the inside of chimneys.
The sweep arrived early to clear the soot from our chimney.
We hired a sweep before lighting the first winter fire.
Note
12
verbtransitive
To look across or scan an area with your eyes or a viewing device.
Like moving a flashlight beam across a dark room to see everything.
She swept the horizon with her binoculars.
Sweep the room slowly with the camera to capture everything.
Similarscan, search, survey
Note
13
verbtransitive or intransitive
To brush or rub lightly against a surface while moving.
Like the way a feather lightly touches your skin as it falls.
Her long dress swept against the floor as she walked.
Willow branches sweep the surface of the pond.
Similarbrush, skim, graze
Note
14
verbtransitive
To hit something with one long, smooth swing.
Like swinging a broom in one big arc to knock something away.
He swept the ball into the corner of the net.
Sweep the bat low to drive the ball along the ground.
Note
15
verbtransitive or intransitive
To carry or move something in a long, grand, flowing way.
Like the way a king's long robe drags grandly behind him as he walks.
She swept her gown up the grand staircase.
Sweep the cloak over your shoulder as you turn.
Note
16
noun
Wide, forceful damage that destroys almost everything in an area.
Like a giant broom pushing away everything in front of it.
The fire's sweep left nothing standing in the valley.
A single sweep of the flood wiped out the whole village.
Similaronslaught
17
nouncountable
A wide, open area of land that stretches out in one piece.
Like a big open field that goes on and on.
A wide sweep of farmland stretched to the horizon.
They camped on a green sweep of meadow beside the river.
Similarexpanse, stretch, tract
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18
nouncountable
A betting game where each player gets a random team and wins if that team wins.
Like drawing names from a hat to see who wins a prize.
We ran an office sweep for the World Cup, and I drew Brazil.
She won the sweep when her randomly drawn horse finished first.
Similarsweepstake, pool, lottery
19
nouncountable
The gentle curving shape of a road, arch, or line as it bends away from straight.
Like the smooth bend of a banana instead of a straight stick.
The road's gentle sweep took us around the hillside.
I admired the graceful sweep of the stone arch above the doorway.
Similarcurve, arc, bend
Note
20
nouncountable
The full reach or distance covered by something as it turns or moves.
Like how far a clock's hand can reach as it goes around.
The crane's arm has a wide sweep, reaching across the whole yard.
The searchlight's sweep covered the entire field.
Similarrange, extent, span, reach
Note
21
nouncountable
A move that knocks an opponent down by using your legs against their legs.
Like knocking a chair over by kicking its legs.
He used a quick sweep to take his opponent's legs out from under him.
A well-timed sweep dropped her rival to the mat.
Note
22
noununcountable
How far back an airplane's wings are angled from the body.
Like how a paper airplane's wings tilt back to help it fly fast.
The jet's wings have a sharp sweep that helps it fly fast.
Fighter planes usually have more sweep than slow cargo planes.
Note
23
nouncountable
A cricket shot played while kneeling, swinging the bat sideways near the ground.
Like swinging a broom low across the floor.
He played a smart sweep to send the ball to the boundary.
Her sweep rolled the ball away for an easy run.
Note
24
verbintransitive
To hit the ball in cricket while kneeling and swinging the bat sideways.
Like swinging a broom low to push something to the side.
Batters often sweep when the spinner pitches the ball short.
He decided to sweep the next delivery toward the boundary.
Note
25
verbtransitive or intransitive
To brush the ice in front of a sliding stone so it travels farther and curves less.
Like wiping a path clean so a toy car can roll farther.
The teammates sweep hard to keep the stone moving toward the target.
Players sweep the ice so the rock slides farther.
Note
26
nounUS
Singular of sweeps. Less common: most people say sweeps even for one ratings period.
The station saved its best stories for the May sweep.
Advertisers pay more for ads that run during a sweep.
Note
27
verbdialectalPennsylvaniaWesterntransitive
To clean a carpet or rug using a vacuum cleaner.
Could you plug in the vacuum and sweep the living room rug before the guests arrive?
I sweep the carpets with our new vacuum cleaner every Saturday.
Similarvacuum
Note
28
nouncountable
A current of water that moves along a beach, sideways to the shore, made by waves.
Like a slow river of water that pushes you sideways along the beach.
The sweep pulled the swimmers slowly down the beach.
A strong sweep carried our raft along the shore.
Similarcurrent
29
verbtransitive
To clear mines out of an area of water to make it safe.
Like checking a field for traps and taking them away before people walk across.
Navy ships will sweep the harbor before the cargo boats come in.
Crews sweep the channel to remove hidden mines.
Similarclear
Note
30
nouncountable
One of the large blades of a windmill that catches the wind and turns.
Like one of the big arms that spin around on a windmill.
One sweep of the windmill had broken off in the storm.
The children watched each sweep turn slowly in the breeze.
Similarsail, vane
31
verb
To pull a single oar on just the left or the right of a boat.
32
verb
To search the bottom of a river or sea by pulling a net or line across it.
33
noun
In a dragon boat, the crew member at the back who steers with a long oar.
34
noun
In a surf lifesaving boat, the leader at the back who steers with an oar and calls orders.
35
noun
A shaped board turned to make a mold in a foundry.
36
noun
Winning every card on the table in one turn, in a game called casino.
37
noun
A long oar used to move and steer a small boat.
38
noun
Rowing where each person uses one oar on one side.
39
nounobsolete
A furnace for getting metal back out of waste.
40
noun
A long pole on a post used to lift a bucket from a well.
41
noun
Dust from a gold or silver workshop that has bits of metal in it.
42
noun
A kind of sea fish found mostly around Australia and New Zealand.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English swepen, going back to old Germanic word roots. It is related to older words meaning to whip or clean.