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1. Dictionary

   sweep

   /swiːp/

   verb

   • 1. clean (an area) by brushing away dirt or litter: "I've swept the floor" Similar brushcleanscrubwipemopdustscourscraperakebuffvacuumhooverinformal:do
   • ▪ move or remove (dirt or litter) by brushing it away: "she swept the tea leaves into a dustpan" Similar removewash awayexpeldispose ofeliminateget rid ofbrushcleanclearwhisk
   • ▪ move or push (someone or something) with great force: "I was swept along by the crowd" Similar carrypulldragdrive
   • ▪ brush (hair) back from one's face or upwards: "long hair swept up into a high chignon"
   • ▪ hit (the ball) on the leg side by bringing the bat across the body from a half-kneeling position; hit a ball delivered by (a bowler) with such a stroke.
   • 2. move swiftly and smoothly: "a large black car swept past the open windows" Similar glidesaildashchargerushstreakspeedflyzoomswoopwhizzhurtleinformal:tear
   • ▪ cause to move swiftly and smoothly: "he swept his hand round the room"
   • ▪ (of a person) move in a confident and stately manner: "she swept magnificently from the hall" Similar glidesailstridebreezestrollsallyswaggerdriftflitflounce
   • ▪ affect (an area or place) swiftly and widely: "the rebellion had swept through all four of the country's provinces" Similar engulfoverwhelmfloodflow acrosssurge overracehurtlestreakspread like lightninginformal:tearwhip
   • ▪ (of a geographical or natural feature) extend continuously in a particular direction, especially in a curve: "green forests swept down the hillsides"
   • ▪ win all the games in (a series); take each of the winning or main places in (a contest or event): North American "we knew we had to sweep these three home games"
   • 3. search (an area) for something: "the detective swept the room for hair and fingerprints" Similar searchprobecheckexplorehunt throughlook throughdelve ingo throughsift throughscourcombgo through with a fine-tooth combleave no stone unturned in
   • ▪ examine (a place or object) for electronic listening devices: "the line is swept every fifteen minutes"
   • ▪ cover (an entire area) with a gun: "they were trying to get the Lewis gun up behind some trees from where they would sweep the trench"

   noun

   • 1. an act of sweeping something with a brush: "I was giving the floor a quick sweep"
   • ▪ short for chimney sweep
   • 2. a long, swift curving movement: "a grandiose sweep of his hand" Similar gesturemovementmoveactionstrokewave
   • ▪ the movement of a beam across the screen of a cathode ray tube.
   • ▪ an attacking stroke in which the bat is brought across the body from a half-kneeling position to hit the ball to leg.
   • 3. a procedure for inducing labour in a pregnant woman, in which a medical practitioner moves a finger around within the opening of the cervix to detach the amniotic membranes: "I went in for a sweep at 41 weeks"
   • 4. a comprehensive search or survey of a place or area: "the police finished their sweep through the woods" Similar searchhuntexplorationprobeforagepursuitquest
   • ▪ a survey of the ratings of television stations, carried out at regular intervals to determine advertising rates. North American
   • 5. a long, typically curved stretch of road, river, or land: "we could see a wide sweep of country perhaps a hundred miles across" Similar expansetractstretchspaceplainextentvastnessvista
   • ▪ a curved part of a drive in front of a building: "one fork of the drive continued on to the gravel sweep" Similar curvecurvaturebendarcarchbowturn
   • ▪ the range or scope of something: "the whole sweep of the history of the USSR" Similar rangespanscopecompassreachspreadambitremitgamutorbitspectrumspherepurviewlimitextent
   • 6. a sweepstake. informal
   • 7. an instance of winning every event, award, or place in a contest: North American "a World Series sweep"
   • 8. a long, heavy oar used to row a barge or other vessel: "a big, heavy sweep oar"
   • 9. a sail of a windmill.
   • 10. a long pole mounted as a lever for raising buckets from a well.

   Word Origin Old Englishswāpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German schweifen ‘sweep in a curve’.

   Scrabble Points: 10

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   • W

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   • E

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   • E

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2. dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › englishSWEEP | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english

   • Cached

   SWEEP definition: 1. to clean something, especially a floor by using a brush to collect the dirt into one place from…. Learn more.

3. www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › sweepSweep Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

   www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › sweep

   • Cached

   The meaning of SWEEP is to remove from a surface with or as if with a broom or brush. How to use sweep in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Sweep.

4. www.collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › englishSWEEP definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

   www.collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english

   • Cached

   sweep. (swiːp ) Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense sweeps , present participle sweeping , past tense, past participle swept. 1. verb. If you sweep an area of floor or ground, you push dirt or rubbish off it using a brush with a long handle. The owner of the store was sweeping his floor when I walked in. [VERB noun]

5. www.dictionary.com › browse › sweepSWEEP Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

   www.dictionary.com › browse › sweep

   • Cached

   to move or remove (dust, dirt, etc.) with or as if with a broom, brush, or the like. to clear or clean (a floor, room, chimney, etc.) of dirt, litter, or the like, by means of a broom or brush. to drive or carry by some steady force, as of a wind or wave: The wind swept the snow into drifts.

6. www.thefreedictionary.com › sweepSweep - definition of sweep by The Free Dictionary

   www.thefreedictionary.com › sweep

   • Cached

   1. to clean or clear (a space, chimney, etc) with a brush, broom, etc. 2. ( often foll by up) to remove or collect (dirt, rubbish, etc) with a brush, broom, etc. 3. to move in a smooth or continuous manner, esp quickly or forcibly: cars swept along the road. 4. to move in a proud or dignified fashion: she swept past.

7. www.vocabulary.com › dictionary › sweepSweep - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com

   www.vocabulary.com › dictionary › sweep

   A barber sweeps up hair from the the barber shop floor, and your melodramatic brother sweeps his homework off his desk with his arm when he's frustrated. You can also use sweep for things that move fast, like a car sweeping down a driveway or fire that sweeps through a forest.

8. www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › english › sweep_1sweep verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes...

   www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › english › sweep_1

   • Cached

   move quickly/with force. [transitive] sweep somebody/something + adv./prep. to move or push somebody/something suddenly and with a lot of force. The little boat was swept out to sea. Their tent was swept away in the storm. She let herself be swept along by the crowd.