Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Sweep

//swiːp// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
A single action of sweeping.
"Give the front steps a quick sweep to get rid of those fallen leaves."
2
a movement in an arc wordnet
3
The person who steers a dragon boat.
4
(American football) an attempt to advance the ball by running around the end of the line wordnet
5
A person who stands at the stern of a surf boat, steering with a steering oar and commanding the crew.

Show 25 more definitions

6
a long oar used in an open boat wordnet
7
A chimney sweep.
"He was, perhaps, the English railwayman's conception of the French mécanicien - short and broad, black as a sweep even before we left Calais (but no blacker than I was on arrival at Paris) and wearing goggles and his uniform cap back to front."
8
a wide scope wordnet
9
A methodical search, typically for bugs (electronic listening devices).
10
winning all or all but one of the tricks in bridge wordnet
11
A batsman's shot, played from a kneeling position with a swinging horizontal bat.
"Bradman attempted a sweep, but in fact top edged the ball to the wicket keeper"
12
someone who cleans soot from chimneys wordnet
13
A lottery, usually on the results of a sporting event, where players win if their randomly chosen team wins.
"Jim will win fifty dollars in the office sweep if Japan wins the World Cup."
14
A flow of water parallel to shore caused by wave action at an ocean beach or at a point or headland.
15
The degree to which an aircraft's wings are angled backwards (or, occasionally, forwards) from their attachments to the fuselage.
"The MiG-17's inner wing has 45 degrees of sweep."
16
A throw or takedown that primarily uses the legs to attack an opponent's legs.
17
Violent and general destruction.
"the sweep of an epidemic disease"
18
A movable template for making moulds, in loam moulding.
19
In the game casino, the act of capturing all face-up cards from the table.
20
The compass of any turning body or of any motion.
"the sweep of a door; the sweep of the eye"
21
Direction or departure of a curve, a road, an arch, etc. away from a rectilinear line.
"the road which makes a small sweep"
22
A large oar used in small vessels, partly to propel them and partly to steer them.
"I intend to muffle the sweeps and row the schooner up to the head of the creek there, from which point we can command the pile of sandal-wood with our gun."
23
A rowing style in which each rower rows with oar on either the port or starboard side. attributive
"I am primarily a sweep rower."
24
The almond furnace. obsolete
25
A long pole, or piece of timber, moved on a horizontal fulcrum fixed to a tall post and used to raise and lower a bucket in a well for drawing water.
26
Any of the blades of a windmill.
27
The sweepings of workshops where precious metals are worked, containing filings, etc. in-plural
28
Any of several sea chubs in the family Kyphosidae (subfamily Scorpidinae).
"Octopus clambered about from hole to hole and startled sweep blurred away as we passed."
29
An expanse or a swath, a strip of land.
"The Himalaya guards the southern rim of the plateau in one continuous sweep of 2250 km, each end marked by a massive mountain, Nanga Parbat on the Indus in the west and Namjagbarwa at the great bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo in the east."
30
singular of sweeps (“viewership ratings”) US, form-of, singular
"A proposal to redistribute the diaries used in sweeps to provide a 4-week "buyer report" earlier than the normal November sweep followed by three quarterly reports was not welcomed […]"

Verb

1
To clean (a surface) by means of a stroking motion of a broom or brush. transitive
"to sweep a floor, the street, or a chimney"
2
win an overwhelming victory in or on wordnet
3
To move through a (horizontal) arc or similar long stroke. intransitive
"The wind sweeps across the plain."
4
sweep with a broom or as if with a broom wordnet
5
To search (a place) methodically. transitive

Show 22 more definitions

6
clean by sweeping wordnet
7
To travel quickly. figuratively, intransitive
"Drifting thus, we made fast time down the bank through Cove Bay, and at 72 m.p.h. came sweeping round the curve past Girdleness light house, and so to the first sight of Aberdeen itself."
8
make a big sweeping gesture or movement wordnet
9
To play a sweep shot.
10
move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions wordnet
11
To brush the ice in front of a moving stone, causing it to travel farther and to curl less.
12
sweep across or over wordnet
13
To move something in a long sweeping motion, as a broom. ergative, transitive
14
force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action wordnet
15
To win (a series) without drawing or losing any of the games in that series. transitive
16
to cover or extend over an area or time period wordnet
17
To defeat (a team) in a series without drawing or losing any of the games in that series. transitive
18
cover the entire range of wordnet
19
To clear (a body of water or part thereof) of mines.
"The channel was swept twice before the battlefleet proceeded through it."
20
To remove something abruptly and thoroughly. transitive
"She swept the peelings off the table onto the floor."
21
To brush against or over; to rub lightly along.
"Their long descending train, / With rubies edg'd and sapphires, swept the plain."
22
To carry with a long, swinging, or dragging motion; hence, to carry in a stately or proud fashion.
"And like a peacock sweep along his tail."
23
To strike with a long stroke.
"Deſcend ye nine! deſcend and ſing; / The breathing inſtruments inſpire, / VVake into voice each ſilent ſtring, / And ſvveep the ſounding lyre!"
24
To row with one oar to either the port or starboard side.
25
To draw or drag something over.
"to sweep the bottom of a river with a net"
26
To pass over, or traverse, with the eye or with an instrument of observation.
"to sweep the heavens with a telescope"
27
To vacuum a carpet or rug. Pennsylvania, Western

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English swepen, from Proto-West Germanic *swaipijan (unattested in Old English), from Proto-Germanic *swaipijaną. Cognate with Early Modern West Frisian swiepe (“whip, cleanse, sweep”), from Old Frisian swēpa, suepa (“sweep”). More distantly related to Old Norse sveipa (whence Swedish svepa). See also swoop.

Etymology 2

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: sweep