Sweeping

//ˈswiːpɪŋ// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1
An instance of sweeping. countable
"The sidewalk needed a sweeping every morning."
2
the act of cleaning with a broom wordnet
3
The activity of sweeping. uncountable
"Sweeping took all morning."

Verb

1
present participle and gerund of sweep form-of, gerund, participle, present

Adjective

1
Wide, broad, affecting or touching upon many things.
"The government will bring in sweeping changes to the income tax system."
2
Completely overwhelming.
"He claimed a sweeping victory."
3
Moving in a continuous motion, rather than by intermittent jumps. (For example, the second hand on a clock face may move either in the sweeping manner or in the ticking manner.)

Adjective

1
ignoring distinctions wordnet
2
taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination wordnet

Synonyms

wholesale wide absolute across board across the board across-the-board

Example

"A banking scandal is sweeping across Capitol Hill."

Etymology

By surface analysis, sweep + -ing.

Related phrases

at a sweeping reduction sweeping day sweeping flood sweeping rain sweeping-machine

More for "sweeping"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.