"sweeping" in the noun sense
1. sweeping
the act of cleaning with a broom
"sweeping" in the verb sense
1. brush, sweep
sweep across or over
"Her long skirt brushed the floor"
"A gasp swept cross the audience"
2. sweep, sail
move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions
"The diva swept into the room"
"Shreds of paper sailed through the air"
"The searchlights swept across the sky"
3. sweep, broom
sweep with a broom or as if with a broom
"Sweep the crumbs off the table"
"Sweep under the bed"
4. embroil, tangle, sweep, sweep up, drag, drag in
force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action
"They were swept up by the events"
"don't drag me into this business"
5. cross, traverse, span, sweep
to cover or extend over an area or time period
"Rivers traverse the valley floor"
"The parking lot spans 3 acres"
"The novel spans three centuries"
6. sweep
clean by sweeping
"Please sweep the floor"
7. sweep
win an overwhelming victory in or on
"Her new show dog swept all championships"
8. sweep
cover the entire range of
9. swing, sweep, swing out
make a big sweeping gesture or movement
"sweeping" in the adjective sense
1. sweeping
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. sweeping, wholesale
ignoring distinctions
"sweeping generalizations"
"wholesale destruction"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
View WordNet® License