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sweep - 10 dictionary results
sweep
1 [sweep]
,verb, swept, sweep⋅ing, noun –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. | to 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 fol. 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. | Music.
|
–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 fol. 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, esp. a wide curve or circuit: His glance swept around the room. |
| 19. | to conduct an underwater search by towing a drag under the surface of the water. |
| 20. | Aeronautics. (of an airfoil or its leading or trailing edge) to project from the fuselage at an angle rearward or forward of a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. |
–noun
| 21. | the act of sweeping, esp. 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. | reach, 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, esp. 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, esp. a chimney sweeper. |
| 37. | Cards.
|
| 38. | Physics. an irreversible process tending towards thermal equilibrium. |
Origin:
1250–1300; ME swepen (v.); cf. OE geswēpa sweepings, deriv. of swāpan to sweep (> obs. E swope); c. G schweifen
1250–1300; ME swepen (v.); cf. OE geswēpa sweepings, deriv. of swāpan to sweep (> obs. E swope); c. G schweifen

Related forms:
sweep⋅a⋅ble, adjective
end run
–noun
| 1. | Football. Also called end sweep, sweep. a running play in which the ball-carrier attempts to outflank the defensive end. |
| 2. | Informal.
|
Origin:
1900–05, Americanism
1900–05, Americanism

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To sweep
sweep (swēp) v. swept (swěpt), sweep·ing, sweeps v. tr.
[Middle English swepen, perhaps from swepe, past tense of swopen, to sweep along; see swoop.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sweep
Sweep\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swept; p. pr. & vb. n. Sweeping.] [OE. swepen; akin to AS. sw[=a]pan. See Swoop, v. i.]1. To pass a broom across (a surface) so as to remove loose dirt, dust, etc.; to brush, or rub over, with a broom for the purpose of cleaning; as, to sweep a floor, the street, or a chimney. Used also figuratively. I will sweep it with the besom of destruction. --Isa. xiv. 23. 2. To drive or carry along or off with a broom or a brush, or as if with a broom; to remove by, or as if by, brushing; as, to sweep dirt from a floor; the wind sweeps the snow from the hills; a freshet sweeps away a dam, timber, or rubbish; a pestilence sweeps off multitudes. The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies. --Isa. xxviii. 17. I have already swept the stakes. --Dryden. 3. To brush against or over; to rub lightly along. Their long descending train, With rubies edged and sapphires, swept the plain. --Dryden. 4. 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. --Shak. 5. To strike with a long stroke. Wake into voice each silent string, And sweep the sounding lyre. --Pope. 6. (Naut.) To draw or drag something over; as, to sweep the bottom of a river with a net. 7. To pass over, or traverse, with the eye or with an instrument of observation; as, to sweep the heavens with a telescope. To sweep, or sweep up, a mold (Founding), to form the sand into a mold by a templet, instead of compressing it around the pattern.Sweep
Sweep\, v. i. 1. To clean rooms, yards, etc., or to clear away dust, dirt, litter, etc., with a broom, brush, or the like. 2. To brush swiftly over the surface of anything; to pass with switness and force, as if brushing the surface of anything; to move in a stately manner; as, the wind sweeps across the plain; a woman sweeps through a drawing-room. 3. To pass over anything comprehensively; to range through with rapidity; as, his eye sweeps through space.Sweep
Sweep\, n. 1. The act of sweeping. 2. The compass or range of a stroke; as, a long sweep. 3. The compass of any turning body or of any motion; as, the sweep of a door; the sweep of the eye. 4. The compass of anything flowing or brushing; as, the flood carried away everything within its sweep. 5. Violent and general destruction; as, the sweep of an epidemic disease. 6. Direction and extent of any motion not rectlinear; as, the sweep of a compass. 7. Direction or departure of a curve, a road, an arch, or the like, away from a rectlinear line. The road which makes a small sweep. --Sir W. Scott. 8. One who sweeps; a sweeper; specifically, a chimney sweeper. 9. (Founding) A movable templet for making molds, in loam molding. 10. (Naut.) (a) The mold of a ship when she begins to curve in at the rungheads; any part of a ship shaped in a segment of a circle. (b) A large oar used in small vessels, partly to propel them and partly to steer them. 11. (Refining) The almond furnace. [Obs.] 12. 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. [Variously written swape, sweep, swepe, and swipe.] 13. (Card Playing) In the game of casino, a pairing or combining of all the cards on the board, and so removing them all; in whist, the winning of all the tricks (thirteen) in a hand; a slam. 14. pl. The sweeping of workshops where precious metals are worked, containing filings, etc. Sweep net, a net for drawing over a large compass. Sweep of the tiller (Naut.), a circular frame on which the tiller traverses.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : sweep
Spanish:
barrer,
German:
kehren,
Japanese:
掃除する
sweep (v.)
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 all 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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sweep
- To automatically move cash balances into an interest-earning money market fund. Certain brokerage firms offer to perform this activity for some or all of their accounts.
Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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sweep
In addition to the idioms beginning with sweep, also see make a clean sweep; new broom sweeps clean; (sweep) off someone's feet.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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