v.
(sweeps, sweeping; past and past part. swept)
- clean (an area) by brushing away dirt or litter.
▸move or remove by brushing.
▸move or push with great force.
▸
(sweep someone/thing away/aside)
remove or abolish someone or something swiftly and suddenly.
- search or survey (an area) for something.
▸cover (an entire area) with a gun.
- move or traverse swiftly and smoothly.
▸affect (a place) swiftly and widely:
violence swept the country.
▸extend continuously, especially in an arc or curve.
▸Cricket hit to the leg side by bringing the bat across the body from a half-kneeling position.
- N. Amer. be victorious in (a series of games).
n.
- an act of sweeping.
▸a chimney sweep.
- a long, swift, curving movement.
▸Electronics the movement of a beam across the screen of a cathode ray tube.
- a long, typically curved stretch of road, river, etc.
- the range or scope of something.
- informal a sweepstake.
- N. Amer. an instance of winning every event, award, or place in a contest.
- a long heavy oar.
- a sail of a windmill.
- a long pole mounted as a lever for raising buckets from a well.
Phrase
- sweep the board
win every event or prize in a contest.
Etymology
OE swāpan, of Gmc origin.