Sweep

Pronunciation

• enPR: swÄ“p, IPA: /swiːp/
• Rhymes: -iːp

Origin

From Old English swāpan. Cognate with Early Mod. West Frisian swiepe ("whip, cleanse, sweep"), from Old Frisian swēpa, suepa ("sweep"). see also swoop.

Full definition of sweep

Verb

1. (transitive) To clean (a surface) by means of a stroking motion of a broom or brush.to sweep a floor, the street, or a chimney
• Bible, Isa. xiv. 23I will sweep it with the besom of destruction.
2. (intransitive) To move through an (horizontal) arc or similar long stroke.
• 2005, Lesley Brown (translator), Sophist by , :Has the course of the argument so accustomed you to agreeing that you were swept by it into a ready assent?
3. The wind sweeps across the plain.
   The offended countess swept out of the ballroom.
4. (transitive) To search (a place) methodically.
5. (intransitive, figuratively) To travel quickly.
• 2011, February 1, Phil McNulty, Arsenal 2-1 Everton, Everton took that disputed lead in a moment that caused anger to sweep around the Emirates.
6. (cricket) To play a sweep shot.
7. (curling) To brush the ice in front of a moving stone, causing it to travel farther and to curl less.
8. (transitive, ergative) To move something in a particular motion, as a broom.
9. (sports, transitive) To win (a series) without drawing or losing any of the games in that series.
10. (sports, transitive) To defeat (a team) in a series without drawing or losing any of the games in that series.
11. (transitive) To remove something abruptly and thoroughly.
• 2013-06-07, Ed Pilkington, ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told, In his submission to the UN, Christof Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
12. She swept the peelings off the table onto the floor.
    The wind sweeps the snow from the hills.The flooded river swept away the wooden dam.
13. To brush against or over; to rub lightly along.
• Dryden
14. Their long descending train,
    With rubies edged and sapphires, swept the plain.
15. To carry with a long, swinging, or dragging motion; hence, to carry in a stately or proud fashion.
• ShakespeareAnd like a peacock sweep along his tail.
16. To strike with a long stroke.
• Alexander PopeWake into voice each silent string,
  And sweep the sounding lyre.
17. (nautical) To draw or drag something over.to sweep the bottom of a river with a net
18. To pass over, or traverse, with the eye or with an instrument of observation.to sweep the heavens with a telescope

Derived terms

Noun

1. The person who steers a dragon boat.
2. A person who stands at the stern of a surf boat, steering with a steering oar and commanding the crew.
3. A chimney sweep.
4. A search (typically for bugs listening devices).
5. (cricket) A batsman's shot, played from a kneeling position with a swinging horizontal bat.
   Bradman attempted a sweep, but in fact top edged the ball to the wicket keeper
6. A lottery, usually on the results of a sporting event, where players win if their randomly chosen team wins.Jim will win fifty dollars in the office sweep if Japan wins the World Cup.
7. A flow of water parallel to shore caused by wave action at an ocean beach or at a point or headland.
8. A single action of sweeping.
9. Violent and general destruction.the sweep of an epidemic disease
10. (metalworking) A movable templet for making moulds, in loam moulding.
11. (card games) In the game casino, the act of capturing all face-up cards from the table.
12. The compass of any turning body or of any motion.the sweep of a door; the sweep of the eye
13. Direction or departure of a curve, a road, an arch, etc. away from a rectilinear line.
• Sir Walter Scottthe road which makes a small sweep
14. A large oar used in small vessels, partly to propel them and partly to steer them.
15. (refining, obsolete) The almond furnace.
16. A long pole, or piece of timber, moved on a horizontal fulcrum fixed to a tall post and used to raise and lower a bucket in a well for drawing water.
17. (in the plural) The sweepings of workshops where precious metals are worked, containing filings, etc.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• weeps