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verb
1.
simple past tense and past participle of sweep.
adjective
2.
(of a sword guard) made up of curved bars.
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Swept
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Related forms
un·swept, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to move or remove (dust, dirt, etc.) with or as if with a broom, brush, or the like.
2.
to clear or clean (a floor, room, chimney, etc.) of dirt, litter, or the like, by means of a broom or brush.
3.
to drive or carry by some steady force, as of a wind or wave: The wind swept the snow into drifts.
4.
to pass or draw (something) over a surface with a continuous stroke or movement: The painter swept a brush over his canvas.
5.
EXPANDto make (a path, opening, etc.) by clearing a space with or as if with a broom.
6.
to clear (a surface, place, etc.) of something on or in it (often followed by of): to sweep a sea of enemy ships.
7.
to pass over (a surface, region, etc.) with a steady, driving movement or unimpeded course, as winds, floods, etc.: sandstorms sweeping the plains.
8.
to search (an area or building) thoroughly: Soldiers swept the town, looking for deserters.
9.
to pass the gaze, eyes, etc., over (a region, area, etc.): His eyes swept the countryside.
10.
to direct (the eyes, gaze, etc.) over a region, surface, or the like: He swept his eyes over the countryside.
11.
to examine electronically, as to search for a hidden listening device.
12.
to win a complete or overwhelming victory in (a contest): Johnson swept the presidential election of 1964.
13.
to win (every game, round, hand, etc., of a series of contests): The Yankees swept the three-game series.
14.
COLLAPSEMusic.
a.
to pass the fingers or bow over (a musical instrument, its strings or keys, etc.), as in playing.
b.
to bring forth (music) thus.
verb (used without object)
15.
to sweep a floor, room, etc., with or as if with a broom: The new broom sweeps well.
16.
to move steadily and strongly or swiftly (usually followed by along, down, by, into, etc.).
17.
to move or pass in a swift but stately manner: Proudly, she swept from the room.
18.
to move, pass, or extend in a continuous course, especially a wide curve or circuit: His glance swept around the room.
19.
EXPANDto conduct an underwater search by towing a drag under the surface of the water.
noun
21.
the act of sweeping, especially a moving, removing, clearing, etc., by or as if by the use of a broom: to give the house a good sweep.
22.
the steady, driving motion or swift onward course of something moving with force or without interruption: the sweep of the wind and the waves.
23.
an examination by electronic detection devices of a room or building to determine the presence of hidden listening devices.
24.
a swinging or curving movement or stroke, as of the arm, a weapon, an oar, etc.
25.
EXPANDreach, range, or compass, as of something sweeping about: the sweep of a road about a marsh.
26.
a continuous extent or stretch: a broad sweep of sand.
27.
a curving, especially widely or gently curving, line, form, part, or mass.
28.
matter removed or gathered by sweeping.
29.
Also called well sweep. a leverlike device for raising or lowering a bucket in a well.
30.
a large oar used in small vessels, sometimes to assist the rudder or to propel the craft.
31.
an overwhelming victory in a contest.
32.
a winning of all the games, rounds, hands, prizes, etc., in a contest by one contestant.
33.
Football. end run.
34.
one of the sails of a windmill.
35.
Agriculture. any of the detachable triangular blades on a cultivator.
36.
Chiefly British. a person employed to clean by sweeping, especially a chimney sweeper.
37.
Cards.
a.
Whist. the winning of all the tricks in a hand. Compare slam2 (def. 1).
b.
Casino. a pairing or combining, and hence taking, of all the cards on the board.
38.
COLLAPSEPhysics. an irreversible process tending towards thermal equilibrium.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English swepen (v.); compare Old English geswēpa sweepings, derivative of swāpan to sweep (> obsolete English swope); cognate with German schweifen
1250–1300; Middle English swepen (v.); compare Old English geswēpa sweepings, derivative of swāpan to sweep (> obsolete English swope); cognate with German schweifen
Related forms
sweep·a·ble, adjective
un·sweep·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To Swept
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
sweep
c.1300, perhaps from a past tense form of M.E. swope "sweep," from O.E. swapan "to sweep" (transitive & intransitive); see swoop. The noun meaning "range, extent" is attested from 1679; in ref. to police or military actions, it is attested from 1837. Sense of "a winning of
EXPANDall the tricks in a card game" is from 1814 (see sweepstakes); extended to other sports by 1960. As a shortened form of chimney-sweeper, first attested 1812.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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