sweeping

English

Etymology

Bysurface analysis,sweep+‎-ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˈswiːpɪŋ/

• Audio(Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-iːpɪŋ
• Hyphenation:sweep‧ing

Verb

sweeping

1. presentparticipleandgerundofsweep

Noun

sweeping(countableanduncountable,pluralsweepings)

1. (countable)An instance of sweeping.

   The sidewalk needed asweepingevery morning.

2. (uncountable)The activity of sweeping.

   Sweepingtook all morning.

   The sidewalk neededsweepingevery morning.

Derived terms

• at a sweeping reduction
• sweeping day
• sweeping flood
• sweeping-machine
• sweeping rain
• sweepings

Translations

an instance of sweeping

• French:balayage(fr)
• German:
• Hungarian:söprés(hu),lesöprés,összesöprés,kisöprés
• Italian:spazzata(it)f,scopata(it)f
• Occitan:escobatgem,escobada(oc)f,escobàsm,ecobassaf,escobetaf,balaja(oc)f,espolsetaf

the activity of sweeping

• Bulgarian:метенеn(metene)
• French:balayage(fr)m
• German:Fegen,Kehren(de)
• Hungarian:söprés(hu),sepregetés,söprögetés
• Norman:brîng'gief

Adjective

sweeping(comparativemoresweeping,superlativemostsweeping)

1. Wide,broad,affectingor touching upon many things.

   The government will bring insweepingchanges to the income tax system.

   He loves makingsweepingstatements without the slightest evidence.

   • 1947January and February, O. S. Nock, “" The Aberdonian "in Wartime”, inRailway Magazine,page 7:

     We steamed easily across the first part of the Tay Bridge, and then after passing over the long spans in mid-stream we coasted smoothly down the 1 in 114 gradient, and around thesweepingcurve through Esplanade Station.

   • 2013June 18,Simon Romero,“Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”,inNew York Times,retrieved21 June 2013:

     By the time politicians in several cities backed down on Tuesday and announced that they would cut or consider reducing fares, the demonstrations had already morphed into a moresweepingsocial protest, with marchers waving banners carrying slogans like “The people have awakened.”

   • 2022January 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, inRAIL,number948,page 3:

     The thing is, we've even had formal confirmation from Government itself that the crucial research required to make suchsweepingclaims hasn't been done!

2. Completelyoverwhelming.

   He claimed asweepingvictory.

Synonyms

• (wide; broad):across-the-board;see alsoThesaurus:comprehensiveorThesaurus:generic

Collocations

Collocations

• sweeping changes
• sweeping generalisations
• sweeping reductions
• sweeping cuts
• sweeping rain
• sweeping gesture

Translations

wide, broad, affecting many things

• Bulgarian:широк(bg)(širok),обхватен(obhvaten)
• Finnish:laaja(fi),yleistävä(fi),yleisluontoinen
• French:à l’emporte-pièce(fr),radical(fr),complet(fr),large(fr),vaste(fr)
• Georgian:ფართო(parto)
• Hungarian:gyökeres(hu),mélyreható(hu),átfogó(hu),alapos(hu)
• Polish:doszczętny(pl)

completely overwhelming—see alsooverwhelming

• Hungarian:elsöprő(hu)

Anagrams

• weepings