sweep

v. & n.
—v. (past and past part. swept)
1 tr. clean or clear (a room or area etc.) with or as with a broom.
2 intr. (often foll. by up) clean a room etc. in this way.
3 tr. (often foll. by up) collect or remove (dirt or litter etc.) by sweeping.
4 tr. (foll. by aside, away, etc.) a push with or as with a broom. b dismiss or reject abruptly (their objections were swept aside).
5 tr. (foll. by along, down, etc.) carry or drive along with force.
6 tr. (foll. by off, away, etc.) remove or clear forcefully.
7 tr. traverse swiftly or lightly (the wind swept the hillside).
8 tr. impart a sweeping motion to (swept his hand across).
9 tr. swiftly cover or affect (a new fashion swept the country).
10 intr. a glide swiftly; speed along with unchecked motion. b go majestically.
11 intr. (of geographical features etc.) have continuous extent.
12 tr. drag (a river-bottom etc.) to search for something.
13 tr. (of artillery etc.) include in the line of fire; cover the whole of.
14 tr. propel (a barge etc.) with sweeps.
—n.
1 the act or motion or an instance of sweeping.
2 a curve in the road, a sweeping line of a hill, etc.
3 range or scope (beyond the sweep of the human mind).
4 = chimney-sweep.
5 a sortie by aircraft.
6 colloq. = SWEEPSTAKE.
7 a long oar worked from a barge etc.
8 the sail of a windmill.
9 a long pole mounted as a lever for raising buckets from a well.
10 Electronics the movement of a beam across the screen of a cathode-ray tube.
Phrases and idioms:
make a clean sweep of
1 completely abolish or expel.
2 win all the prizes etc. in (a competition etc.).
sweep away
1 abolish swiftly.
2 (usu. in passive) powerfully affect, esp. emotionally.
sweep the board
1 win all the money in a gambling-game.
2 win all possible prizes etc. sweep-second hand a second hand on a clock or watch, moving on the same dial as the other hands. sweep under the carpet see CARPET. swept-back (of an aircraft wing) fixed at an acute angle to the fuselage, inclining outwards towards the rear. swept-up (of hair) = UPSWEPT. swept-wing (of an aircraft) having swept-back wings.
Etymology: ME swepe (earlier swope) f. OE swapan