swept

Wielded a broom

Swept is the past tense and past participle of sweep.

To sweep is to clean a surface with a broom or brush, moving debris away: She swept the kitchen floor.

The motion extends to anything moving quickly across a space: His eyes swept the room, Fire swept through the building.

A sweeping victory or sweeping changes are comprehensive and decisive.

To be swept up in something is to be carried along by it: They got swept up in the excitement.

cleaning

broom

Bristled cleaning stick

dustpanHandheld floor-debris collector
dustFine settled particles
debrisScattered broken fragments

tidy · mop · brush · vacuum · housekeeping · floor · cobwebs · crumbs · dirt · neat

victory

landslide

Mass of earth falling

decisiveQuick to conclude
dominantHaving superior influence
shutoutGame with lopsided scoring

blowout · rout · unanimous · overwhelming · clean · undefeated · triumph · conquest · whitewash · steamroll

motion

glide

Move with effortless continuity

rushQuick sudden movement
whooshRushing air sound
breezeLight, gentle air movement

gust · current · wave · cascade · drift · surge · flow · stream · pass · whirl

emotion

overcome

Prevail against difficulty

overwhelmedDefeated by sheer volume
captivatedWholly absorbed by something
enchantedUnder magical influence

romance · passion · carried · rapture · enthralled · smitten · infatuated · bedazzled · lovestruck · transported

force

tornado

Violent rotating windstorm

hurricaneViolent tropical windstorm
floodOverwhelming water overflow
tsunamiSeismic sea surge

storm · tide · avalanche · wildfire · blizzard · typhoon · deluge · mudslide · rapids · undertow

gesture

flourish

To grow vigorously

dramaticStrikingly expressive or sudden
curtainFabric hung for privacy
capeShouldered sleeveless wrap

arm · bow · grand · theatrical · gesture · reveal · drape · swish · swoop · arc

Categories

past tense verbswent, got, had, did, said
dance movespirouette, shimmy, waltz, tango, cha-cha
past tensewent, was, were, had, got
tidyneat, orderly, organized, tidied, uncluttered
old past tensesspake, begat, drave, clave, gat
brought backreturned, revived, restored, recalled, recovered

Opposites

cleaning action

Made unclean

unswept · soiled · littered · dirty · messed

movement manner

sweptcrept

Moved slowly, furtively

crawled · trudged · plodded · shuffled · inched

emotional/dramatic force

Refused to yield

withstood · unmoved · steadfast · anchored · grounded

Phrases

sweep upClean with a broom
swept upCleaned or enthralled
swept awayRemoved by force
sweep awayRemove forcefully and completely
sweep alongMove forcefully in flow
clean sweepComplete, uncontested victory

Family

sweep, sweeping, sweeper, sweeps, sweepers, unswept, sweepstake, sweepingly

Familiarity: Top 5,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G