Sweeps

How to spell sweeps

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce sweeps

What does sweeps mean?

1. verbCleans a surface with a broom or brush, or moves something across an area with a broad motion.
2. nounBroad, curving movements or stretches across a space.

Sweeps in a sentence

• verb

  The caretaker sweeps the corridor before the offices open.

• noun

  The long sweeps of the searchlight crossed the dark harbour.

• verb

  A strong breeze sweeps the fallen leaves into the gutter.

• noun

  The painting captured the gentle sweeps of the coastline.

Where does sweeps come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The base word sweep grows out of Old English, where the verb swapan meant 'to swing, drive, or sweep along', and it is closely tied to the related Middle English swepen. The underlying Germanic sense was one of broad, swinging motion, the kind a long brush makes across a floor, which is why the word covers both literal cleaning and any wide, gliding movement. Over the centuries the spelling settled with the simple 'ee' digraph that matches its long vowel, so it carries no real trap. The same family gave English the noun swoop, which shares the idea of moving rapidly across a space. The plural and third person form simply adds -s, keeping the word phonetic and predictable.

How the word is built

• sweep (to clean or move with a broad motion)
• -s (third person singular verb / plural noun marker)