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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Sweep \Sweep\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Swept}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sweeping}.] [OE. swepen; akin to AS. sw[=a]pan. See {Swoop}, verb (used without an object)]
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.
3. To brush against or over; to rub lightly along.
Their long descending train, With rubies edged and sapphires, swept the plain. --Dryden.
4. To carry with a long, swinging, or dragging motion; hence, to carry in a stately or proud fashion.
And like a peacock sweep along his tail. --Shak.
5. To strike with a long stroke.
Wake into voice each silent string, And sweep the sounding lyre. --Pope.
6. (Naut.) To draw or drag something over; as, to sweep the bottom of a river with a net.
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 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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Sweeping \Sweep"ing\, adjective 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. -- {Sweep"ing*ly}, adverb -{Sweep"ing*ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
sweeping
adjective
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}]
noun: the act of cleaning with a broom
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
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
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |