I. ˈswēp verb
( swept ˈswept ; swept ; sweeping ; sweeps )
Etymology: Middle English swepen; akin to Old English swāpan to sweep — more at swoop
transitive verb
1.
a. : to brush away or off : remove from a surface with or as if with a broom or brush
sent with broom before to sweep the dust behind the door — Shakespeare
swept the crumbs from the table
b. : to cut with vigorous swings (as of a sword or scythe)
the grain swept down by the reapers
c. : to destroy completely : wipe out — usually used with away
everything she loved, everything she cherished, might be swept away overnight — Louis Bromfield
d. : to remove with a single continuous forceful action
swept the books off the desk
swept the curtains aside
as the train passes the net sweeps the pouch from the arm — F.H.Briant
: drive or carry away forcibly
swept him away into a far corner of the hall — W.J.Locke
e. : to drive or carry along with irresistible force
the boy and the girl had been swept well out of his reach and were bobbing along — Charles Price
a wave of protest that swept the opposition into office
2.
a. : to clean by vigorous and continuous brushings : remove particles of dirt or other matter from the surface of with a broom or brush
sweep the floor
sweep the street
sweep out the kitchen
b. : to clear by repeated and forcible blows, strokes, or gusts
c. : command
artillery placed to sweep the whole field
d. : to range over destructively or violently : scour
a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight — Matthew Arnold
fire swept the business district — American Guide Series: Maryland
bucking heavy seas that swept the deck — Walter Hayward
e.
(1) : to achieve quick and irresistible influence or domination over
a great wave of fear swept the country
archery, croquet, roller skating and then lawn tennis swept the country — F.R.Dulles
(2) : to win all the games or contests of or on
the team swept the series
the crew swept the river
(3) : to win an overwhelming victory in
swept the elections
3. : to gather together into one heap or in one place : collect
a fine mesh net narrowing … to the mouth of a glass tube into which the organisms are swept — W.H.Dowdeswell
swept the two groups together — Elmer Davis
: gather in
sweep his winnings into his pocket
4.
a. : to touch or come in contact with (a surface) as if with a brush
his fingers swept the strings of the guitar
the innkeeper bowed so that his skirt swept the floor — Nora Waln
b. : to move along or across with a swift continuous action : pass over
the active areas may emit streams that sweep the earth with each rotation of the sun — C.T.Elvey
broad rolling open heights, swept by clean mountain winds — American Guide Series: Vermont
c. : to brush over the bottom of (a body of water) : drag
swept the river with a dragnet
d. : to brush over the surface of (as a plant) with a net to gather insects
e. : to clear (a body of water) of mines
swept the channel
5.
a. archaic : to execute (as a curtsy) with a sweep
swept the prettiest little curtsy ever seen — W.M.Thackeray
b. : to trace or describe the curve of (as a line or circle)
c. : to cover the entire extent of in one's field of vision or perception : make a broad survey of
swept the sky with his binoculars — K.M.Dodson
his keen dark eyes swept the room — Robert Brennan
d. : to move round or about so as to cover a wide circle or extent
swept the binoculars slowly from right to left, from left to right — Fred Majdalany
6.
a. archaic : to carry so as to brush the ground
like a peacock sweep along his tail — Shakespeare
b. : to cause to move lightly over or along a surface
swept his brush across the canvas
swept her fingers over the strings of the harp
7. : to clear away snow in front of (as advancing curling stone)
8. : to produce (as music) by a brushing movement of the fingers along the strings of an instrument
sweeping a wail from his instrument — Katharine N. Burt
9. : to form (a mold) by shaping the surface of the sand or loam with a template or strickle instead of using a pattern : strike , strickle — often used with up
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to clean a surface with or as if with a broom : do the work of cleaning or brushing
a new broom sweeps clean
b. : to move over the surface or extent of something with swiftness, force, or devastating effect
a hurricane swept over the island, razing all the buildings — American Guide Series: Louisiana
a thin and watery beam of light swept across the dewy grass — Robertson Davies
such rage and despair had swept over her as she had never before known — F.M.Ford
: go, pass, or move swiftly or forcefully
she swept to her feet like a dancer — Paul Roche
when the front doors were opened, the children swept in — N.Y.Times
2. : to move with dignity or stateliness
his formidable wife swept past him to greet us — Maurice Cranston
3. : trail
heard the trailing garments of the night sweep through her marble halls — H.W.Longfellow
4.
a. : to move in a wide curve
our frantic horses swept round an angle of the road — Thomas De Quincey
when the sun sweeps across the sky at the lowest altitude — S.M.Spencer
b. : to extend in a curve or long stretch
her penciled eyebrows sweep in wide arcs over her long-lashed eyes — Jossleyn Hennessy
brush-covered rangelands sweep to distant horizons — American Guide Series: Texas
5. : to clear the ice of snow in the path of an advancing curling stone by brushing with a broom
•
- sweep one off one's feet
- sweep the board
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English swepe, from swepen, v.
1. : something that sweeps or works with a sweeping motion: as
a. : a hand water-raising device consisting of a long pole or timber pivoted to the top of a tall post and used to raise and lower a bucket — compare picotah , shadoof
b. : ballista
c.
(1) : the lever arm of a circular horsepower machine to which a horse is hitched
(2) : a triangular-shaped cultivator blade with a curved face that cuts off weeds under the soil surface between crop rows
(3) : a wide heavy triangular blade used for subsurface tillage
(4) : buck rake
d. : a windmill sail
e.
(1) : a long oar used in boats or small vessels to propel or steer them
(2) : a wire or rope stretched between two ships following parallel courses with the center of the wire being allowed to sag below the surface at set depths to drag for obstructions (as rocks, mines)
f. : strickle 3
2.
a. : the act, action, or an instance of sweeping : a clearing out or away with or as if with a broom
giving the room a good sweep
a clean sweep of all the holdovers from the old administration
b. : the removal from the table in one play in casino of all the cards by pairing or combining
c. : an overwhelming or decisive victory in a political contest
could distinguish no landslides, no sweep in favor of either party — Christopher Serpell
d.
(1) : a winning of all the games or contests in a series competition
their sweep of this crucial series clinched the pennant for them
(2) : a capture of all the prizes at stake in a contest or competition
another week saw her complete a sweep of the sport's three highest titles — Current Biography
made a surprising clean sweep of all the delegates — Current History
e. : a military, naval, or air action (as a patrol, reconnaissance, or attack) ranging over a particular sector
there were full-dress artillery and aerial sweeps all day and night — Irwin Shaw
patrol ships dispersed enemy small craft in inshore sweeps — N.Y.Times
f. : a minesweeping operation
3.
a. : a continuous and forceful forward movement (as of waves or wind)
is entirely open to the unobstructed sweep of waves — P.E.James
caught the full sweep of a rising southeast wind that dotted the lake with whitecaps — Joseph Millard
the slow sweep of a glacier — Douglas Stewart
b. : a course, progress, or activity marked by force, drive, or continuity along a broad front
the great sweeps of western migration — Russell Lord
the sweep of economic evolution seems at first sight to have passed the professions by — R.M.MacIver
the symphony has passages of sweep and power
c.
(1) : a usually swift motion or movement describing an arc or a circle : a curving or circular course
the lemon-and-white pointer went off on great sweeps that settled the question about her running — Newsweek
the impatient sweep of a hand — R.G.Thomas
(2) : a systematic search of the sky with a telescope (as in a visual search for comets)
(3) : an end run in football
d. : the compass of a sweeping movement, course, or progress : scope
the whole area lay within the sweep of the telescope
was interested in the whole sweep of cultural history — R.B.West
e. : a broad unbroken area or extent often in a wide curve
a vast sweep of sage and mesquite, dotted with dozens of kinds of cactus — American Guide Series: Texas
a majestic sweep of flesh on either side of a small blunt nose — William Faulkner
f. : a series of buildings or rooms
4. : a curving or flowing line or contour
the sweep of the arch
the sweep of the draperies
as
a.
(1) : a curved wall, stairway, or section of a building
the entire front is a sweep of large glass panes — Ford Times
(2) : a curved section of scenery
b. : a curved driveway in front of a house or public building
the driver took the gravel sweep magnificently and turned off out the gate — Elizabeth Bowen
c. : a gradual bend (as in a log or piling)
5. : something that is swept up ; specifically : the sweepings of a workshop where precious metals are processed — usually used in plural
when some walls and floors were dismantled during renovations, approximately $67,000 in gold sweeps was recovered — F.W.Taber
6. : chimney sweep 1
7. : sweepstakes
8. : any of several small dark-colored Australian percoid food and game fishes of the family Scorpididae
9.
a. : the radius of the curve to which a piece (as a spring leaf or fender) is shaped
b. : arch , camber
c. : obliquity of an aeronautical member with respect to a significant reference plane as measured in degrees ; specifically : obliquity of a wing with reference to the plane of symmetry of an aircraft — see sweepback , sweepforward
d. : a rapid and wide horizontal deflection of a cathode-ray beam that causes the spot to move across the screen (as in an oscilloscope or a television receiver)
Synonyms: see range
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III. adverb
: with a sweep
IV. noun
1. : a television ratings period during which surveys are taken to determine advertising rates — usually used in plural
2. : a wide-ranging or thorough search of an area (as by police)