sweeping, wholesale
(adjective) ignoring distinctions; “sweeping generalizations”; “wholesale destruction”
sweeping
(adjective) 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”
sweeping
(noun) the act of cleaning with a broom
Source: WordNet® 3.1
sweeping
present participle of sweep
sweeping (countable and uncountable, plural sweepings)
(countable) An instance of sweeping.
(uncountable) The activity of sweeping.
sweeping (comparative more sweeping, superlative most sweeping)
wide, broad, affecting or touching upon many things
Completely overwhelming
• (wide; broad): across-the-board; see also comprehensive or generic
• weepings
Source: Wiktionary
Sweep"ing, a.
Definition: 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, adv. -Sweep"ing*ness, n.
Sweep, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swept; p. pr. & vb. n. Sweeping.] Etym: [OE. swepen; akin to AS. swapan. See Swoop, v. i.]
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.)
Definition: 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, or 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)
Definition: 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)
Definition: 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)
Definition: 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.
Definition: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
4 April 2025
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
International Coffee Day (September 29) is an occasion to promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage, with events occurring in places across the world. A day to promote fair trade coffee and raise awareness for the coffee growers’ plight. Other countries celebrate this event on October 1.
