[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sweep \sweep\, v. t. imp.  p. p. swept; p. pr.  vb. n.
   sweeping. oe. swepen; akin to as. sw=apan. 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.
      1913 webster

            i will sweep it with the besom of destruction.
                                                  --isa. xiv.
                                                  23.
      1913 webster

   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.
      1913 webster

            the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies. --isa.
                                                  xxviii. 17.
      1913 webster

            i have already swept the stakes.      --dryden.
      1913 webster

   3. to brush against or over; to rub lightly along.
      1913 webster

            their long descending train,
            with rubies edged and sapphires, swept the plain.
                                                  --dryden.
      1913 webster

   4. to carry with a long, swinging, or dragging motion; hence,
      to carry in a stately or proud fashion.
      1913 webster

            and like a peacock sweep along his tail. --shak.
      1913 webster

   5. to strike with a long stroke.
      1913 webster

            wake into voice each silent string,
            and sweep the sounding lyre.          --pope.
      1913 webster

   6. naut. to draw or drag something over; as, to sweep the
      bottom of a river with a net.
      1913 webster

   7. to pass over, or traverse, with the eye or with an
      instrument of observation; as, to sweep the heavens with a
      telescope.
      1913 webster

   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.
      1913 webster
see also:
swept sweeping swoop to sweep a mold to sweep up a mold 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sweeping \sweep"ing\, 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. -- sweep"ingly, adv.
   -sweep"ingness, n.
   1913 webster
see also:
sweep"ingly sweep"ingness 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

sweeping
     adj 1: 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"
     2: ignoring distinctions; "sweeping generalizations";
        "wholesale destruction" syn: wholesale
     3: having broad range or effect; "had extensive press
        coverage"; "far-reaching changes in the social structure";
        "sweeping reforms" syn: extensive, far-reaching
     n : the act of cleaning with a broom
see also:
wholesale extensive far-reaching 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

163 moby thesaurus words for "sweeping":
   absolute, across the board, across-the-board, aleatoric, aleatory,
   all-comprehensive, all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-inclusive,
   all-out, all-pervading, amorphous, blanket, blobby, blurred,
   blurry, born, broad, broad-based, cataclysmic, catastrophic,
   catholic, chance, chancy, chaotic, clean, clear, coasting,
   compendious, complete, comprehensive, confused, congenital,
   consummate, debris, decisive, deep-dyed, diffuse, disordered,
   downright, dust, dyed-in-the-wool, egregious, encyclopedic,
   exhaustive, extensive, far-embracing, far-extending, far-flung,
   far-flying, far-going, far-ranging, far-reaching, flow, flowing,
   foggy, fuzzy, garbage, general, glide, gliding, global, hazy,
   hit-or-miss, ill-defined, imprecise, inaccurate, inchoate,
   incoherent, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminable,
   indeterminate, indiscriminate, indistinct, inexact,
   insurrectionary, intensive, junk, large-scale, lax, liberal,
   litter, loose, nonspecific, obscure, omnibus, omnipresent,
   orderless, out-and-out, outright, over-all, overwhelming,
   panoramic, perfect, pervasive, plain, plumb, pure, radical, random,
   regular, revolutional, revolutionary, revulsionary, revulsive,
   rubbish, sailing, shadowed forth, shadowy, shapeless, sheer,
   skating, skiing, skim, sledding, slide, sliding, slipping, slither,
   slithering, stochastic, straight, sweep, synoptic, thorough,
   thoroughgoing, through-and-through, tobogganing, total,
   transilient, trash, ubiquitous, umbrella, unclear, unconditional,
   undefined, undestined, undetermined, universal, unmitigated,
   unplain, unqualified, unreserved, unrestricted, unspecified, utter,
   vague, veiled, veritable, waste, whole, wholesale, wide,
   wide-extended, wide-extending, wide-ranging, wide-reaching,
   wide-stretching, widespread, without exception, without omission

Sweeping >> S Words
Sweeping, definition of term: Sweeping
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