Lexic.us

Definition of Sweeping

1. Noun. The act of cleaning with a broom.

2. Adjective. Taking in or moving over (or as if over) a wide area; often used in combination. "A wide-sweeping view of the river"

3. Adjective. Ignoring distinctions. "Wholesale destruction"

Definition of Sweeping

1. a. 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.

Definition of Sweeping

1. Verb. (present participle of sweep) ¹

2. Noun. An instance of sweeping. ¹

3. Noun. The activity of sweeping. ¹

4. Adjective. wide, broad, affecting many things ¹

5. Adjective. Completely overwhelming ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Sweeping

1. the act of one that sweeps [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Sweeping

sweep something under the rug sweep the board sweep through sweep under the rug sweep up sweepage sweepages sweepback sweepbacks sweeper

sweepers sweepest sweepeth sweepier sweepiest sweeping (current term) sweeping day sweepingly sweepingness sweepingnesses

sweepings sweeplike sweeps sweeps stunt sweeps stunts sweepstake sweepstakes sweepwasher sweepwashers sweepy

Literary usage of Sweeping

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Old Virginia and Her Neighbours by John Fiske (1897)
"The facts are too complicated to be embraced in any generalization more definitely limited than this. When sweeping statements are made about " the North ..."

2. Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana (1897)
"... bringing up with a sudden jerk, which made it necessary to hold on with both hands, and then sweeping off in another long, irregular curve. ..."

3. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1918)
"General Grant's force for his firing lines was sweeping south they were to clear the ridge and the valley. As the engagement progressed, every feature of ..."

4. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1896)
"sweeping away all the embers, I set down my loaf or loaves, and turning down the earthen pot to cover them, drew the embers all round the outside of the pot ..."

5. The Cambridge Modern History by Adolphus William Ward, George Walter Prothero (1904)
"sweeping abolition of ancient rights of a due was doubtful or unknown. For centuries there had been ..."

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