sweep up phrasal verb ( see also ↑ sweep )
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.