sweep

sweep¹ W3S3 [swi:p] v past tense and past participle swept [swept]

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1¦(clean something)¦

2¦(push something somewhere)¦

3¦(push somebody/something with force)¦

4¦(group moves)¦

5¦(wind/waves etc)¦

6¦(become popular)¦

7¦(feeling)¦

8¦(person)¦

9¦(politics)¦

10¦(sports)¦

11 sweep the board

12¦(form a curve)¦

13¦(look)¦

14 sweep somebody off their feet

15 sweep/brush something under the carpet

16¦(hair)¦

Phrasal verbs

　sweep somebody along

　sweep something<=>aside

　sweep somebody/something away

　sweep up

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[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Probably from sweop, the past tense of Old English swapan 'to sweep']

1.) ¦(CLEAN SOMETHING)¦ [T]

to clean the dust, dirt etc from the floor or ground, using a brush with a long handle

= ↑brush

▪ Bert swept the path in front of the house.

sweep sth off/out/up etc

▪ Will you sweep the leaves off the patio?

2.) ¦(PUSH SOMETHING SOMEWHERE)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to move things from a surface with a brushing movement

▪ I swept the papers quickly into the drawer.

3.) ¦(PUSH SOMEBODY/SOMETHING WITH FORCE)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to force someone or something to move in a particular direction

▪ The windsurfer was swept out to sea.

▪ Jessie was swept along by the angry crowd.

4.) ¦(GROUP MOVES)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if a group of people or animals sweep somewhere, they quickly move there together

sweep through/along etc

▪ The crowd swept through the gates of the stadium.

5.) ¦(WIND/WAVES ETC)¦ [I,T always + adverb/preposition]

if winds, waves, fire etc sweep a place or sweep through, across etc a place, they move quickly and with a lot of force

▪ Thunderstorms swept the country.

sweep across/through etc

▪ 90 mile per hour winds swept across the plains.

6.) ¦(BECOME POPULAR)¦ [I,T always + adverb/preposition]

written if an idea, feeling, or activity sweeps a group of people or a place, it quickly becomes very popular or common

sweep the country/nation/state etc

▪ a wave of nationalism sweeping the country

sweep across/through etc

▪ the latest craze sweeping through the teenage population

7.) ¦(FEELING)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if a feeling sweeps over you, you are suddenly affected by it

sweep over

▪ A feeling of isolation swept over me.

8.) ¦(PERSON)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if someone sweeps somewhere, they move quickly and confidently, especially because they are impatient or like to seem important

sweep into/through etc

▪ Eva swept into the meeting and demanded to know what was going on.

9.) ¦(POLITICS)¦ [I and T]

to win an election easily and in an impressive way

sweep to power/victory

▪ Nixon and Agnew swept to victory with 47 million votes.

▪ Herrera was swept into office two years ago.

10.)¦(SPORTS)¦ [T]

AmE to win all of the games in a series of games against a particular team

▪ Houston swept Orlando to become NBA champions.

11.) sweep the board

BrE to win everything that can be won, especially very easily

12.) ¦(FORM A CURVE)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

to form a long curved shape

sweep down/along etc

▪ The hills swept down to the sea.

13.) ¦(LOOK)¦ [I,T always + adverb/preposition]

to look quickly at all of something

▪ The General's eyes swept the horizon.

sweep over/across/around etc

▪ the beam from the lighthouse sweeping across the sea

14.) sweep sb off their feet

to make someone feel suddenly and strongly attracted to you in a romantic way

▪ Jill's been swept off her feet by an older man.

15.) sweep/brush sth under the carpet also sweep sth under the rug AmE

to try to keep something a secret, especially something you have done wrong

16.) ¦(HAIR)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to pull your hair back from your face

sweep sth back/up

▪ Kerry swept her hair back into a ponytail.

sweep along [sweep sb along] phr v

to ↑sweep someone ↑away

sweep aside [sweep sth<=>aside] phr v

to refuse to pay attention to something someone says

▪ Branson swept all the objections aside.

sweep away [sweep sb/sth away] phr v

1.) sweep sth<=>away

to completely destroy something or make something disappear

▪ houses swept away by the floods

▪ A sudden feeling of grief swept all my anger away.

2.) sweep sb away also sweep sb along [usually passive]

if a feeling or idea sweeps you away or along, you are so excited that you do not think clearly or you forget about other things

▪ We couldn't help being swept away by Bette's enthusiasm.

▪ 19th century scientists were swept along on the tide of Darwin's theories.

sweep up phr v

1.) to clean the dust, dirt etc from the floor or ground using a brush with a long handle

▪ The janitor was just sweeping up as I left the building.

sweep sth<=>up

▪ Jan was sweeping up the bits of paper and broken glass.

2.) sweep sb<=> up

to pick someone up in one quick movement

▪ Harriet swept the child up in her arms and hugged her.

sweep ²

sweep² n

1.) a long swinging movement of your arm, a weapon etc

▪ With a single sweep of his sword, he cut through the rope.

2.) [usually singular] BrE

the act of cleaning a room with a long-handled brush

▪ The kitchen needs a good sweep.

3.) the sweep of sth

a) a long curved line or area of land

▪ the wide sweep of lawn

b) the many different and important ideas, events, or qualities of something

▪ the broad sweep of history

4.) [usually singular]

a search or attack that moves over a large area

▪ He watched the helicopter make a sweep over the beach.

5.) the sweeps also sweeps month/period

AmE a period of time during the year when television stations try to find out which shows are the most popular

6.) AmE a series of several games that one team wins against another team

7.) a ↑chimney sweep

→clean sweep at ↑clean¹ (14)