Sweep

Sweep - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

SWEEP, v.t. pret. and pp. swept.

1. To brush or rub over with a brush, broom or besom, for removing loose dirt; to clean by brushing; as, to sweep a chimney or a floor. When we say, to sweep a room, we mean, to sweep the floor of the room; and to sweep the house, is to sweep the floors of the house.

2. To carry with a long swinging or dragging motion; to carry with pomp.

And like a peacock, sweep along his tail.

3. To drive or carry along or off by a long brushing stroke or force, or by flowing on the earth. Thus the wind sweeps the snow from the tops of the hills; a river sweeps away a dam, timber or rubbish; a flood sweeps away a bridge or a house. Hence,

4. To drive, destroy or carry off many at a stroke, or with celerity and violence; as, a pestilence sweeps off multitudes in a few days. The conflagration swept away whole streets of houses.

I have already swept the stakes.

5. To rub over.

Their long descending train,

With rubies edg'd and sapphires, swept the plain.

6. To strike with a long stroke.

Wake into voice each silent string,

And sweep the sounding lyre.

7. To draw or drag over; as, to sweep the bottom of a river with a net, or with the bight of a rope, to hook an anchor.

SWEEP, v.i. To pass with swiftness and violence, as something broad or brushing the surface of any thing; as a sweeping rain; a sweeping flood. A fowl that flies near the surface of land or water, is said to sweep along near the surface.

1. To pass over or brush along with celerity and force; as, the wind sweeps along the plain.

2. To pass with pomp; as, a person sweeps along with a trail.

She sweeps it through the court with troops of ladies.

3. To move with a long reach; as a sweeping stroke.

SWEEP, n. The act of sweeping.

1. The compass of a stroke; as a long sweep.

2. The compass of any turning body or motion; as the sweep of a door.

3. The compass of any thing flowing or brushing; as, the flood carried away every thing within its sweep.

4. Violent and general destruction; as the sweep of an epidemic disease.

5. Direction of any motion not rectilinear; as the sweep of a compass.

6. The mold of a ship when she begins to compass in, at the rung heads; also, any part of a ship shaped by the segment of a circle; as a floor-sweep; a back-sweep, _c.

7. Among refiners of metals, the almost-furnace.

8. Among seamen, a large oar, used to assist the rudder in turning a ship in a calm, or to increase her velocity in a chase, _c.

Sweep of the tiller, a circular frame on which the tiller traverses in large ships.

Definition

To “sweep” usually means to remove dirt by making broad, quick movements with a broom or brush. “Swept” is the past tense of “sweep.” These words are also used figuratively.

• The term “sweep” is used figuratively to describe how an army attacks with swift, decisive, wide-reaching movements.
• For example, Isaiah prophesied that the Assyrians would “sweep through” the Kingdom of Judah. This means they would destroy Judah and capture its people.
• The term “sweep” can also be used to describe the manner in which rapidly flowing water pushes things and forces them away.
• When overwhelming, difficult things are happening to a person, it can be said that they are “sweeping over” him.

(See also: Assyria, Isaiah, Judah, prophet)

Bible References

• 1 Kings 16:3
• Daniel 11:40-41
• Genesis 18:24
• Proverbs 21:7-8
• Psalms 90:5

Word Data

• Strong’s: H0622, H0857, H1640, H2498, H2894, H3261, H5500, H5595, H7857, G42160, G45630, G49510