sweep

sweep [swēp]

vt.

swept, sweeping [ME swepen, akin to (or ? altered <) OE swapan: see SWOOP]

1. to clear or clean (a surface, room, etc.) as by brushing with a broom

2. to remove or clear away (dirt, debris, etc.) as with a broom or brushing movement

3. to clear (a space, path, etc.) with or as with a broom

4. to strip, clear, carry away, remove, or destroy with a forceful movement or movements

5. to move or carry along with a sweeping movement [to sweep one's hand through one's hair]

6. to touch or brush in moving across [hands sweeping the keyboard]

7. to pass swiftly over or across; traverse, as in search [searchlights sweeping the sky]

8. to direct (the eyes, a glance, etc.) over something swiftly

9.

a) to drag (a river, pond, etc.) with a net, grapple, etc.

b) to clear (the sea, etc.) with a mine sweeper

10. to direct gunfire along; rake

11.

a) to win all the games or events of (a series, set, or match)

b) to win overwhelmingly [to sweep an election]

vi.

1. to clean a surface, room, etc. with or as with a broom or the like

2. to move, pass, or progress steadily or smoothly, esp. with speed, force, or gracefulness [planes sweeping across the sky, music sweeping to a climax]

3. to trail, as skirts or the train of a gown

4. to reach or extend in a long, graceful curve or line [a road sweeping up the hill]

n.

1. the act of sweeping, as with a broom

2.

a) a continuous sweeping or driving movement [the sweep of a scythe]

b) a stroke or blow resulting from this

3. a trailing, as of skirts

4. range or scope [within the sweep of their guns]

5. extent or range; stretch; reach [a long sweep of meadow]

6. a line, contour, curve, etc. that gives an impression of flow or movement

7. a person whose work is sweeping; specif., CHIMNEY SWEEP

8. [usually pl.] things swept up; sweepings

9.

a) the taking or winning of all; complete victory or success, as in a series of contests

b) in casino, the taking of all the cards on the board, by pairing or combining

c) in whist, the winning of all the tricks in one deal

10. a long oar

11. a long pole mounted on a pivot, with a bucket at one end, used for raising water, as from a well

☆ 12. a blade or plow-point of various widths, used in the shallow cultivation of row crops

13. a sail of a windmill

14. short for SWEEPSTAKES

15. Electronics one transit of an electron beam across the screen of a cathode-ray tube, moving either horizontally from line to line, as in a picture tube, or circularly around a center point, as in a radarscope

16. Football a play in which the ball carrier runs a relatively long way toward a sideline before turning toward the line of scrimmage

17. [usually pl.] Radio TV Informal

a) a national rating survey of local stations for determining advertising rates

b) the period during which the survey is conducted