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

Arthur, White, and McClanahan won for Lead Actress in a Comedy, and Getty won for Supporting Actress — a rare clean sweep for a sitcom ensemble. —Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025

Four electric toothbrushes powered by sonic technology won in a clean sweep. —Emma Guillen, People.com, 17 July 2025

This year was nearly a clean sweep for cities in South America. —Sarah Bruning, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025

The 19-year-old collected a clean sweep of the club’s player of the season awards, becoming the first teenager since Glenn Hoddle to do so, and is viewed as an essential part of the present and future. —Elias Burke, New York Times, 21 June 2025

Rhymes for clean sweep

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