EN

Synonyms for sweep

33 synonyms
4 meanings

verb
noun

Most common

swing swing out drag in drag cross pass over brush broom

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Swing

swing, turn, swing out, scope, room, range

2. Drag in

drag in, drag, tangle, embroil

3. Traverse

traverse, cross, span

Other

brush, broom, clean, pass over, spread, sail, ravage, pour, graze, compass

Noun

1. Chimney sweep

chimney sweeper, chimney sweep

Other

end run US CA, slam, expanse, search, maomao, shadoof, luderick, almond furnace dated

Definitions

v. 1
To clean (a surface) by means of a stroking motion of a broom or brush.
to sweep a floor, the street, or a chimney
v. 2
To move through a (horizontal) arc or similar long stroke.
The wind sweeps across the plain.
v. 3
To search (a place) methodically.
n. 1
A single action of sweeping.
Give the front steps a quick sweep to get rid of those fallen leaves.

Related words

Word family: sweep-chimney sweeper
Phrases: sweep up sweep away chimney sweep chimney sweep's cancer chimney sweep's carcinoma sweep along clean sweep podium sweep

Forms

Plural: sweeps → slams, expanses, searches, maomaos…
Past participle: swept
e.g. swept → turned, scoped, roomed, ranged…

Example sentences

swing "I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy.
drag The Fates lead the willing, and drag the unwilling.
cross This cross street is busy with pedestrian traffic.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
sweep		steady
swing		rising
drag		rising
cross		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: room¹, turn¹, drag¹, span¹, pour¹, sail¹, slam¹
5 letters: range¹, cross¹, clean¹, swing¹, scope¹, brush¹, broom¹, graze¹
6 letters: search¹, spread¹, tangle², ravage², maomao
7 letters: compass², expanse², embroil², shadoof
8 letters: traverse², luderick

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (tangle² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: balayer
Italiano: spazzare
Español: barrer
Deutsch: fegen