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.
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I will sweep it with the besom of destruction.
--Isa. xiv.
23.
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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.
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The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies. --Isa.
xxviii. 17.
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I have already swept the stakes. --Dryden.
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3. To brush against or over; to rub lightly along.
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Their long descending train,
With rubies edged and sapphires, swept the plain.
--Dryden.
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4. To carry with a long, swinging, or dragging motion; hence,
to carry in a stately or proud fashion.
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And like a peacock sweep along his tail. --Shak.
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5. To strike with a long stroke.
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Wake into voice each silent string,
And sweep the sounding lyre. --Pope.
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6. (Naut.) To draw or drag something over; as, to sweep the
bottom of a river with a net.
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7. To pass over, or traverse, with the eye or with an
instrument of observation; as, to sweep the heavens with a
telescope.
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To sweep a mold or To sweep up a mold (Founding), to form
the sand into a mold by a templet, instead of compressing
it around the pattern.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sweeping \Sweep"ing\, a.
Cleaning off surfaces, or cleaning away dust, dirt, or
litter, as a broom does; moving with swiftness and force;
carrying everything before it; including in its scope many
persons or things; as, a sweeping flood; a sweeping majority;
a sweeping accusation. --
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
sweeping
adj 1: taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often
used in combination; "a sweeping glance"; "a
wide-sweeping view of the river"
2: ignoring distinctions; "sweeping generalizations";
"wholesale destruction" [syn: wholesale]
3: having broad range or effect; "had extensive press
coverage"; "far-reaching changes in the social structure";
"sweeping reforms" [syn: extensive, far-reaching]
n : the act of cleaning with a broom
WordNet (r) 2.0
163 Moby Thesaurus words for "sweeping":
absolute, across the board, across-the-board, aleatoric, aleatory,
all-comprehensive, all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-inclusive,
all-out, all-pervading, amorphous, blanket, blobby, blurred,
blurry, born, broad, broad-based, cataclysmic, catastrophic,
catholic, chance, chancy, chaotic, clean, clear, coasting,
compendious, complete, comprehensive, confused, congenital,
consummate, debris, decisive, deep-dyed, diffuse, disordered,
downright, dust, dyed-in-the-wool, egregious, encyclopedic,
exhaustive, extensive, far-embracing, far-extending, far-flung,
far-flying, far-going, far-ranging, far-reaching, flow, flowing,
foggy, fuzzy, garbage, general, glide, gliding, global, hazy,
hit-or-miss, ill-defined, imprecise, inaccurate, inchoate,
incoherent, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminable,
indeterminate, indiscriminate, indistinct, inexact,
insurrectionary, intensive, junk, large-scale, lax, liberal,
litter, loose, nonspecific, obscure, omnibus, omnipresent,
orderless, out-and-out, outright, over-all, overwhelming,
panoramic, perfect, pervasive, plain, plumb, pure, radical, random,
regular, revolutional, revolutionary, revulsionary, revulsive,
rubbish, sailing, shadowed forth, shadowy, shapeless, sheer,
skating, skiing, skim, sledding, slide, sliding, slipping, slither,
slithering, stochastic, straight, sweep, synoptic, thorough,
thoroughgoing, through-and-through, tobogganing, total,
transilient, trash, ubiquitous, umbrella, unclear, unconditional,
undefined, undestined, undetermined, universal, unmitigated,
unplain, unqualified, unreserved, unrestricted, unspecified, utter,
vague, veiled, veritable, waste, whole, wholesale, wide,
wide-extended, wide-extending, wide-ranging, wide-reaching,
wide-stretching, widespread, without exception, without omission
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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