DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 sweep /ˈswip/
 掃除,打掃,肅清,視野,範圍,全勝(vt.)掃除,用手指彈,猛拉,掃蕩,肅清,衝走

 sweep
 拂掠

 Sweep v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swept p. pr. & vb. n. Sweeping.]
 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.

 Sweep v. i.
 1. To clean rooms, yards, etc., or to clear away dust, dirt, litter, etc., with a broom, brush, or the like.
 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.
 3. To pass over anything comprehensively; to range through with rapidity; as, his eye sweeps through space.

 Sweep, n.
 1. The act of sweeping.
 2. The compass or range of a stroke; as, a long sweep.
 3. The compass of any turning body or of any motion; as, the sweep of a door; the sweep of the eye.
 4. The compass of anything flowing or brushing; as, the flood carried away everything within its sweep.
 5. Violent and general destruction; as, the sweep of an epidemic disease.
 6. Direction and extent of any motion not rectlinear; as, the sweep of a compass.
 7. Direction or departure of a curve, a road, an arch, or the like, away from a rectlinear line.
    The road which makes a small sweep.   --Sir W. Scott.
 8. One who sweeps; a sweeper; specifically, a chimney sweeper.
 9. Founding A movable templet for making molds, in loam molding.
 10. Naut. (a) 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. (b) A large oar used in small vessels, partly to propel them and partly to steer them.
 11. Refining The almond furnace. [Obs.]
 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.]
 13. Card Playing In the game of casino, a pairing or combining of all the cards on the board, and so removing them all; in whist, the winning of all the tricks (thirteen) in a hand; a slam.
 14. pl. 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 Naut., a circular frame on which the tiller traverses.
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 sweep
      n 1: a wide scope; "the sweep of the plains" [syn: expanse]
      2: someone who cleans soot from chimneys [syn: chimneysweeper,
          chimneysweep]
      3: winning all or all but one of the tricks in bridge [syn: slam]
      4: a long oar used in an open boat [syn: sweep oar]
      5: (American football) an attempt to advance the ball by
         running around the end of the line [syn: end run]
      6: a movement in an arc; "a sweep of his arm"
      v 1: sweep across or over; "Her long skirt brushed the floor"; "A
           gasp swept cross the audience" [syn: brush]
      2: move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions; "The diva
         swept into the room"; "Shreds of paper sailed through the
         air"; "The searchlights swept across the sky" [syn: sail]
      3: sweep with a broom or as if with a broom; "Sweep the crumbs
         off the table"; "Sweep under the bed" [syn: broom]
      4: force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of
         action; "They were swept up by the events"; "don't drag me
         into this business" [syn: embroil, tangle, sweep up,
          drag, drag in]
      5: to cover or extend over an area or time period; "Rivers
         traverse the valley floor", "The parking lot spans 3
         acres"; "The novel spans three centuries" [syn: cross, traverse,
          span]
      6: clean by sweeping; "Please sweep the floor"
      7: win an overwhelming victory in or on; "Her new show dog
         swept all championships"
      8: cover the entire range of
      9: make a big sweeping gesture or movement [syn: swing, swing
         out]
      [also: swept]