sweep

verb (MOVE)

/swiːp/ (swept, swept)

Definition

C2 [I + adv/prep] to move, especially quickly and powerfully: Everyone looked up as she swept into the room. The fire swept (= spread quickly) through the house. The National Party swept into power (= easily won the election) with a majority of almost 200.Moving quickly › [T] to quickly spread through and influence an area: A 1970s fashion revival is sweeping Europe.Spreading and scattering › [T] to travel across all of an area, especially when looking for something: American minesweepers are sweeping the Arabian Sea.Moving quickly › [I usually + adv/prep] If a road, river, range of mountains, set of steps, etc. sweeps in a particular direction, they follow a particular curved path: The road sweeps down to the coast.Moving quickly

(Definition of sweep verb (MOVE) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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