sweep

verb

/swiːp/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they sweep	/swiːp/ /swiːp/
he / she / it sweeps	/swiːps/ /swiːps/
past simple swept	/swept/ /swept/
past participle swept	/swept/ /swept/
-ing form sweeping	/ˈswiːpɪŋ/ /ˈswiːpɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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with brush or hand

[transitive, intransitive] to clean a room, surface, etc. using a broom (= a type of brush on a long handle)

sweep (something) to sweep the floor
Chimneys should be swept regularly.
I don't have to sweep and mop every day.
sweep up Don't just stand around—grab a broom and sweep up.
sweep something + adj. The showroom had been emptied and swept clean.

Topics Houses and homesb2

[transitive] sweep something + adv./prep. to remove something from a surface using a brush, your hand, etc.

She swept the crumbs into the wastebasket.
He swept the leaves up into a pile.
She swept the clothes onto the floor and invited him to sit down.

move quickly/with force

[transitive] sweep somebody/something + adv./prep. to move or push somebody/something suddenly and with a lot of force

The little boat was swept out to sea.
Their tent was swept away in the storm.
She let herself be swept along by the crowd.

[intransitive, transitive] (of weather, fire, etc.) to move suddenly and/or with force over an area or in a particular direction

+ adv./prep. Rain swept in through the broken windows.
A fire swept through the store on Tuesday night.
sweep something Strong winds regularly sweep the islands.

of a person

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to move quickly and/or smoothly, especially in a way that impresses or is intended to impress other people

Without another word she swept out of the room.
Two police motorcycles swept through the village.
A pair of golden eagles swept across the sky.
She swept past the photographers without a glance.
(figurative) He swept into the lead with an almost perfect performance.

[transitive] sweep something + adv./prep. to move something, especially your hand or arm, quickly and smoothly in a particular direction

He rushed to greet her, sweeping his arms wide.

Extra Examples

She swept a hand through her hair.
The traveller swept a hand toward the endless expanse of water.

of feelings

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to suddenly affect somebody strongly

A wave of tiredness swept over her.
Memories came sweeping back.

of ideas/fashions

[intransitive, transitive] to spread quickly

+ adv./prep. Rumours of his resignation swept through the company.
sweep something the latest craze sweeping the nation

look/move over area

[intransitive, transitive] to move over an area, especially in order to look for something

+ adv./prep. His eyes swept around the room.
The car headlights swept across the front of the building.
sweep something Searchlights swept the sky.
She swept the crowd with her binoculars.

touch surface

[transitive] sweep something to move, or move something, over a surface, touching it lightly

Her dress swept the ground as she walked.

hair

[transitive] sweep something + adv./prep. to brush, comb, etc. your hair in a particular direction

Her hair was swept back from her face.

Topics Appearancec2

of landscape

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to form a long, smooth curve

The hotel gardens sweep down to the beach.

in sport

[transitive] sweep something (North American English) to win all the games in a series of games against another team or all the parts of a contest

The Blue Jays have a chance to sweep the series.
New Jersey swept Detroit last season.

Word OriginOld English swāpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German schweifen ‘sweep in a curve’.

Idioms

sweep the board

to win all the prizes, etc. in a competition

sweep somebody off their feet

to make somebody fall suddenly and deeply in love with you
- She’s waiting for some hero to come and sweep her off her feet.
Topics Feelingsc2

sweep (somebody) to power

to win an election by a large number of votes; to make somebody win an election with a large number of votes

sweep to victory

to win a contest easily
- Macron swept to victory in 2017.

sweep something under the carpet

(North American English also sweep something under the rug)

to try to stop people from finding out about something wrong, illegal, embarrassing, etc. that has happened or that you have done
- An earlier report, implicating the government, had been conveniently swept under the carpet.

sweep

noun

/swiːp/

Idioms

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with brush

[countable, usually singular] an act of cleaning a room, surface, etc. using a broom

Give the room a good sweep.

curving movement

[countable] a smooth curving movement

He indicated the door with a sweep of his arm.

Extra Examples

He dismissed his assistant with a grandiose sweep of his hand.
(figurative) Thousands of jobs were lost in one broad sweep.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

great
long
wide
…

verb + sweep

make
take

preposition

in one sweep
with a sweep

See full entry

landscape

[countable, usually singular] a long, often curved, piece of road, river, coast, etc.

the broad sweep of white cliffs around the bay

Extra Examples

The house overlooks the great sweep of the St Lawrence River.
An elegant sweep of lawn led up to the house.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

great
long
wide
…

verb + sweep

make
take

preposition

in one sweep
with a sweep

See full entry

range

[uncountable] the range of an idea, a piece of writing, etc. that considers many different things

Her book covers the long sweep of the country's history.
the broad cultural sweep of Flaubert's novel

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

great
long
wide
…

verb + sweep

make
take

preposition

in one sweep
with a sweep

See full entry

movement/search over area

[countable] a movement over an area, for example in order to search for something or attack something

The rescue helicopter made another sweep over the bay.

Extra Examples

Her eyes made a comprehensive sweep of the room.
We made a wide sweep south to the River Dee.

chimney

(also chimney sweep)

[countable] a person whose job is to clean the inside of chimneysTopics Jobsc2

gambling

[countable]

(North American English also sweeps)

(informal) a sweepstake (= a type of betting in which the winner gets all the money bet by everyone else)

in sport

[countable] (North American English) a series of games that a team wins against another team; the fact of winning all the parts of a contest

a World Series sweep

television

the sweeps

[plural] (North American English) a time when television companies examine their programmes to find out which ones are the most popular, especially in order to calculate advertising rates

the May ratings sweeps

Word OriginOld English swāpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German schweifen ‘sweep in a curve’.

Idioms

(make) a clean sweep (of something)

to remove all the people or things from an organization that are thought to be unnecessary or need changing
- The new manager made a clean sweep of the department.
to win all the prizes or parts of a game or competition; to win an election completely
- China made a clean sweep of the medals in the gymnastics events.
- The opinion poll suggests a clean sweep for the Democrats.