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. I will sweep it with the besom of destruction. (isa. Xiv. 23)
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. The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies. (isa. Xxviii. 17) I have already swept the stakes. (Dryden)
7. To pass over, or traverse, with the eye or with an instrument of observation; as, to sweep the heavens with a telescope. To sweep, or sweep up, a mold, to form the sand into a mold by a templet, instead of compressing it around the pattern.
Origin: OE. Swepen; akin to AS. Swapan. See Swoop.
1. The act of sweeping.
6. Direction and extent of any motion not rectlinear; as, the sweep of a compass.
8. One who sweeps; a sweeper; specifically, a chimney sweeper.
10. The mold of a ship when she begins to curve in at the rungheads; any part of a ship shaped in a segment of a circle. A large oar used in small vessels, partly to propel them and partly to steer them.
12. A long pole, or piece of timber, moved on a horizontal fulcrum fixed to a tall post and used to raise and lower a bucket in a well for drawing water. [Variously written swape, sweep, swepe, and swipe.
14. The sweeping of workshops where precious metals are worked, containing filings, etc. Sweep net, a net for drawing over a large compass. Sweep of the tiller, a circular frame on which the tiller traverses.
2. To brush swiftly over the surface of anything; to pass with switness and force, as if brushing the surface of anything; to move in a stately manner; as, the wind sweeps across the plain; a woman sweeps through a drawing-room.