# sweeping

Pronunciation: US say "SWEE-ping" /ˈswipɪŋ/; UK

## Adjective

1. Wide-ranging and broad, affecting or touching on a great many things.
   - Simple: Affecting many things at once or covering a wide area.
   - _The committee proposed sweeping reforms to the entire health system._
   - _His sweeping generalizations ignored most of the careful exceptions._
2. Total and overwhelming in extent or effect, leaving little or nothing out.
   - Simple: So big and complete that it covers everything.
   - _The party won a sweeping majority in the national election._
   - _Critics gave the film sweeping praise from start to finish._
6. Moving in one continuous, flowing motion rather than in separate, intermittent jumps.
   - Simple: Moving smoothly and without stopping, not in small jumps.
   - _The camera made a sweeping arc to follow the runner across the field._
   - _A sweeping second hand circles the dial without any visible ticks._

## Verb

3. Present participle and gerund of sweep. — present participle and gerund of sweep
   - Simple: Present participle and gerund of sweep. Use this form for the action happening now or as the name of the activity.
   - _Sweeping the porch each morning kept the dust from settling indoors._
   - _The searchlights were sweeping the dark harbor for the missing boat._

## Noun

4. The activity of cleaning a floor or surface with a broom or brush.
   - Simple: The act of cleaning a floor or surface with a broom.
   - _Sweeping took up most of the cleaner's first hour each day._
   - _The workshop needs daily sweeping to keep the sawdust under control._
5. A single instance of cleaning a floor or surface with a broom or brush.
   - Simple: One time that someone cleans a floor with a broom.
   - _A thorough sweeping of the stage removed the last of the confetti._
   - _One careful sweeping wasn't enough to clear all the broken glass._

## Origin

Formed from "sweep" plus the suffix "-ing".

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