I. sweep 1 W3 /swiːp/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle swept /swept/)
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: Probably from sweop , the past tense of Old English swapan 'to sweep' ]
1 . CLEAN SOMETHING [transitive] to clean the dust, dirt etc from the floor or ground, using a brush with a long handle SYN brush :
Bert swept the path in front of the house.
sweep something off/out/up etc
Will you sweep the leaves off the patio?
2 . PUSH SOMETHING SOMEWHERE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move things from a surface with a brushing movement:
I swept the papers quickly into the drawer.
3 . PUSH SOMEBODY/SOMETHING WITH FORCE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to force someone or something to move in a particular direction:
The windsurfer was swept out to sea.
Jessie was swept along by the angry crowd.
4 . GROUP MOVES [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a group of people or animals sweep somewhere, they quickly move there together
sweep through/along etc
The crowd swept through the gates of the stadium.
5 . WIND/WAVES ETC [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] if winds, waves, fire etc sweep a place or sweep through, across etc a place, they move quickly and with a lot of force:
Thunderstorms swept the country.
sweep across/through etc
Ninety-mile per hour winds swept across the plains.
6 . BECOME POPULAR [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] written if an idea, feeling, or activity sweeps a group of people or a place, it quickly becomes very popular or common
sweep the country/nation/state etc
a wave of nationalism sweeping the country
sweep across/through etc
the latest craze sweeping through the teenage population
7 . FEELING [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a feeling sweeps over you, you are suddenly affected by it
sweep over
A feeling of isolation swept over me.
8 . PERSON [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if someone sweeps somewhere, they move quickly and confidently, especially because they are impatient or like to seem important
sweep into/through etc
Eva swept into the meeting and demanded to know what was going on.
9 . POLITICS [intransitive and transitive] to win an election easily and in an impressive way
sweep to power/victory
Nixon and Agnew swept to victory with 47 million votes.
Herrera was swept into office on the promise of major reforms.
10 . SPORTS [transitive] American English to win all of the games in a series of games against a particular team:
Houston swept Orlando to become NBA champions.
11 . sweep the board British English to win everything that can be won, especially very easily
12 . FORM A CURVE [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to form a long curved shape
sweep down/along etc
The hills swept down to the sea.
13 . LOOK [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to look quickly at all of something:
The general’s eyes swept the horizon.
sweep over/across/around etc
the beam from the lighthouse sweeping across the sea
14 . sweep somebody off their feet to make someone feel suddenly and strongly attracted to you in a romantic way:
Jill’s been swept off her feet by an older man.
15 . sweep/brush something under the carpet ( also sweep something under the rug American English ) to try to keep something a secret, especially something you have done wrong
16 . HAIR [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to pull your hair back from your face
sweep something back/up
Kerry swept her hair back into a ponytail.
sweep somebody along phrasal verb
to ↑ sweep someone ↑ away
sweep something ↔ aside phrasal verb
to refuse to pay attention to something someone says:
Branson swept all the objections aside.
sweep somebody/something away phrasal verb
1 . sweep something ↔ away to completely destroy something or make something disappear:
houses swept away by the floods
A sudden feeling of grief swept all my anger away.
2 . sweep somebody away ( also sweep somebody along ) [usually passive] if a feeling or idea sweeps you away or along, you are so excited that you do not think clearly or you forget about other things:
We couldn’t help being swept away by Bette’s enthusiasm.
Nineteenth-century scientists were swept along on the tide of Darwin’s theories.
sweep up phrasal verb
1 . to clean the dust, dirt etc from the floor or ground using a brush with a long handle:
The janitor was just sweeping up as I left the building.
sweep something ↔ up
Jan was sweeping up the bits of paper and broken glass.
2 . sweep somebody ↔ up to pick someone up in one quick movement:
Harriet swept the child up in her arms and hugged her.
II. sweep 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a long swinging movement of your arm, a weapon etc:
With a single sweep of his sword, he cut through the rope.
2 . [usually singular] British English the act of cleaning a room with a long-handled brush:
The kitchen needs a good sweep.
3 . the sweep of something
a) a long curved line or area of land:
the wide sweep of lawn
b) the many different and important ideas, events, or qualities of something:
the broad sweep of history
4 . [usually singular] a search or attack that moves over a large area:
He watched the helicopter make a sweep over the beach.
5 . the sweeps ( also sweeps month/period ) American English a period of time during the year when television stations try to find out which shows are the most popular
6 . American English a series of several games that one team wins against another team
7 . a ↑ chimney sweep
⇨ clean sweep at ↑ clean 1 (14)