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   Sweep

   /swēp/

   

   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 sweeping: "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 upward: "long hair swept up into a high chignon"
   • 2. move swiftly and smoothly: "a large black car swept past the open windows" Similar glidesaildashchargerushstreakspeedflyzoomswoopwhizhurtleinformal:tear
   • ▪ cause to move swiftly and smoothly: "he swept his hand around 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.
   • 3. a procedure for inducing labor 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 broadcast 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 driveway in front of a building: "one fork of the driveway 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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     4

   • E

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

   www.thefreedictionary.com › sweep

   • Cached

   1. To clean or clear, as of dirt, with a broom or brush: sweep a chimney. 2. To clear away with a broom or brush: swept snow from the steps. 3. To clear (a path or space) with a broom or brush. 4. a. To search thoroughly: The counselors swept the dormitory during the fire drill. b.

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

   www.vocabulary.com › dictionary › sweep

   verb. sweep across or over. “A gasp swept cross the audience” synonyms: brush. brush. touch lightly and briefly. sail. move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions. see more. verb. make a big sweeping gesture or movement. synonyms: swing, swing out. see more. verb. move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions.

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

   www.collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english

   • Cached

   5 days ago · sweep in British English. (swiːp ) verb Word forms: sweeps, sweeping, swept. 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.

5. www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › definition › americansweep verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage ...

   www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › definition › american

   • Cached

   sweep. [transitive, intransitive] to clean a room, surface, etc. using a broom (= a type of brush on a long handle) sweep (something) to sweep the floor Chimneys should be swept regularly. sweep something + adj. The showroom had been emptied and swept clean.

6. www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › us › definitionsweep verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage ...

   www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › us › definition

   • Cached

   Definition of sweep verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

7. dictionary.cambridge.org › us › dictionarySWEEP | definition in the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org › us › dictionary

   • Cached

   to be pushed or carried along, often by something strong that you cannot control: Many trees were swept away in the flood. They got swept along by the crowd. sweep verb (AFFECT) to quickly affect a large area: The disease is sweeping the country. Panic swept through the crowd. sweep along/into/past, etc.

8. www.ldoceonline.com › dictionary › sweepsweep | meaning of sweep in Longman Dictionary of ...

   www.ldoceonline.com › dictionary › sweep

   • Cached

   From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Related topics: Cleaning, Nature sweep1 /swiːp/ W3 verb (past tense and past participle swept /swept/) 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/...