clean sweep

noun

1

: a victory in which one side or team wins every game, contest, etc.

The Red Sox won the series in a clean sweep.

The election was a clean sweep for local Democratic candidates.

2

: a complete change in something

The new governor has made a clean sweep of the staff in the governor's mansion.

Examples of clean sweep in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

La Jolla High School came oh so close to a clean sweep of the trio of championship games it was involved in over the weekend, but the Vikings faithful will need to settle for two out of three after winning titles in girls water polo and boys soccer and a narrow defeat in girls soccer. —La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026

One Battle After Another has scored a clean sweep of major precursor wins this season, extremely rare, even starting with the Gothams. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2026

Arsenal and City are still chasing a clean sweep of trophies; Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and English League Cup. —ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026

Mottley, 60, secured a historic third consecutive term in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections, and her Barbados Labor Party claimed every one of the 30 seats in the House of Assembly in a clean sweep. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for clean sweep

• asleep
• upkeep
• beep
• cheap
• creep
• deep
• heap
• jeep
• keep
• leap
• peep
• reap