[swiːp], (Verb)

Definitions:
- clean (an area) by brushing away dirt or litter
(e.g: I've swept the floor)

- move swiftly and smoothly
(e.g: a large black car swept past the open windows)

- search (an area) for something
(e.g: the detective swept the room for hair and fingerprints)


Phrases:
- sweep something under the carpet
- sweep the board

Origin:
Old English swāpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German schweifen ‘sweep in a curve’

[swiːp], (Noun)

Definitions:
- an act of sweeping something with a brush
(e.g: I was giving the floor a quick sweep)

- a long, swift curving movement
(e.g: 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
(e.g: I went in for a sweep at 41 weeks)

- a comprehensive search or survey of a place or area
(e.g: the police finished their sweep through the woods)

- a long, typically curved stretch of road, river, or land
(e.g: 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
(e.g: a World Series sweep)

- a long, heavy oar used to row a barge or other vessel
(e.g: a big, heavy sweep oar)

- a sail of a windmill

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


Phrases:
- sweep something under the carpet
- sweep the board

Origin:
Old English swāpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German schweifen ‘sweep in a curve’