clean (an area) by brushing away dirt or litter

I've swept the floor

move swiftly and smoothly

a large black car swept past the open windows

his cool grey eyes swept over her

search (an area) for something

the detective swept the room for hair and fingerprints

an act of sweeping something with a brush

I was giving the floor a quick sweep

a long, swift curving movement

a grandiose sweep of his hand

a procedure for inducing labour in a pregnant woman, in which a medical practitioner moves a finger around within the opening of the cervix to detach the amniotic membranes

I went in for a sweep at 41 weeks

she asked if I wanted a membrane sweep to get labour going

a comprehensive search or survey of a place or area

the police finished their sweep through the woods

a long, typically curved stretch of road, river, or land

we could see a wide sweep of country perhaps a hundred miles across

a sweepstake

an instance of winning every event, award, or place in a contest

a World Series sweep

a long, heavy oar used to row a barge or other vessel

a big, heavy sweep oar

a sail of a windmill

a long pole mounted as a lever for raising buckets from a well