Home Synonyms sweep

Synonyms of sweep in English:

sweep


See US English definition of sweep

See UK English definition of sweep

See Spanish definition of barrido

verb

1‘she swept the kitchen floor’

SYNONYMS
brush, clean, scrub, wipe, mop, dust, scour, scrape, rake, buff
vacuum, hoover
informal do

2‘I swept the crumbs off the floor’

SYNONYMS
remove, wash away, expel, dispose of, eliminate, get rid of
brush, clean, clear, whisk

3‘he was swept out to sea’

SYNONYMS
carry, pull, drag, drive

4‘riots swept the country’

SYNONYMS
engulf, overwhelm, flood, flow across, surge over

5‘he had swept down the stairs with his arm about John's shoulders’

SYNONYMS
glide, sail, stride, breeze, stroll, sally, swagger, drift, flit, flounce

6‘a flotilla of limousines swept past’

SYNONYMS
glide, sail, dash, charge, rush, streak, speed, fly, zoom, swoop, whizz, hurtle
informal tear

7‘fire swept through the building’

SYNONYMS
race, hurtle, streak, spread like lightning
informal tear, whip

8‘police had swept the conference room at 6am and 8am’

SYNONYMS
search, probe, check, explore, hunt through, look through, delve in, go through, sift through, scour, comb, go through with a fine-tooth comb, leave no stone unturned in

noun

1‘with a great sweep of his hand, he bowed’

SYNONYMS
gesture, movement, move, action, stroke, wave

2‘both men were arrested in a nationwide security sweep’

SYNONYMS
search, hunt, exploration, probe, forage, pursuit, quest

3‘she looked out into the grey sweep of road’

SYNONYMS
curve, curvature, bend, arc, arch, bow, turn

4‘this is a modern resort featuring a long sweep of golden sand’

SYNONYMS
expanse, tract, stretch, space, plain, extent, vastness, vista

5‘the broad sweep of our business interests’

SYNONYMS
range, span, scope, compass, reach, spread, ambit, remit, gamut, orbit, spectrum, sphere, purview, limit, extent

Phrases

    sweep something under the carpet

    ‘their grievances became clearly visible and could no longer be conveniently swept under the carpet’


    SYNONYMS
    hide, conceal, keep hidden, suppress, keep quiet about, hush up, not disclose, not breathe a word of, censor, redact, gag, withhold, cover up, smother, stifle, muzzle, ban
    ANTONYMS

    disclose, publicize

    sweep something aside

    ‘they can sweep aside any criticism by declaring that they are rewarding the loyalty of dedicated fans’


    SYNONYMS
    disregard, ignore, take no notice of, think no more of, dismiss, shrug off, forget about, brush aside