v. & n.
v. (past and past part. swept) 1 tr. clean or clear (a room or area etc.) with or as with a broom. 2 intr. (often foll. by up) clean a room etc. in this way. 3 tr. (often foll. by up) collect or remove (dirt or litter etc.) by sweeping. 4 tr. (foll. by aside, away, etc.) a push with or as with a broom. b dismiss or reject abruptly (their objections were swept aside). 5 tr. (foll. by along, down, etc.) carry or drive along with force. 6 tr. (foll. by off, away, etc.) remove or clear forcefully. 7 tr. traverse swiftly or lightly (the wind swept the hillside). 8 tr. impart a sweeping motion to (swept his hand across). 9 tr. swiftly cover or affect (a new fashion swept the country). 10 intr. a glide swiftly; speed along with unchecked motion. b go majestically. 11 intr. (of geographical features etc.) have continuous extent. 12 tr. drag (a river-bottom etc.) to search for something. 13 tr. (of artillery etc.) include in the line of fire; cover the whole of. 14 tr. propel (a barge etc.) with sweeps.
n. 1 the act or motion or an instance of sweeping. 2 a curve in the road, a sweeping line of a hill, etc. 3 range or scope (beyond the sweep of the human mind). 4 = chimney-sweep. 5 a sortie by aircraft. 6 colloq. = SWEEPSTAKE. 7 a long oar worked from a barge etc. 8 the sail of a windmill. 9 a long pole mounted as a lever for raising buckets from a well. 10 Electronics the movement of a beam across the screen of a cathode-ray tube. make a clean sweep of 1 completely abolish or expel. 2 win all the prizes etc. in (a competition etc.). sweep away 1 abolish swiftly. 2 (usu. in passive) powerfully affect, esp. emotionally. sweep the board 1 win all the money in a gambling-game. 2 win all possible prizes etc. sweep-second hand a second hand on a clock or watch, moving on the same dial as the other hands. sweep under the carpet see CARPET. swept-back (of an aircraft wing) fixed at an acute angle to the fuselage, inclining outwards towards the rear. swept-up (of hair) = UPSWEPT. swept-wing (of an aircraft) having swept-back wings.
[ ME swepe (earlier swope) f. OE swapan ]