range is a general term indicating the extent of one's perception or the extent of powers, capacities, or possibilities.
the entire range of human experience
gamut suggests a graduated series running from one possible extreme to another.
a performance that ran the gamut of emotions
compass implies a sometimes limited extent of perception, knowledge, or activity.
your concerns lie beyond the narrow compass of this study
sweep suggests extent, often circular or arc-shaped, of motion or activity.
the book covers the entire sweep of criminal activity
scope is applicable to an area of activity, predetermined and limited, but somewhat flexible.
as time went on, the scope of the investigation widened
orbit suggests an often circumscribed range of activity or influence within which forces work toward accommodation.
within that restricted orbit they tried to effect social change
Examples of sweep in a Sentence
Verb
He swept the dirt off the driveway.
He swept the crumbs from the table.
I need to sweep the kitchen.
Are you finished sweeping the porch?
A storm swept across the plains.
Fires swept through the forest.
She proudly swept into the room.
The limo swept up to the door.
He swept the curtains aside.
She swept the books off the desk. Noun
Mrs. Griswold has been a teacher for so long that the sweep of her influence extends across three generations of the townspeople.
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Verb
Flash flooding currents are strong and can sweep drivers off roadways.—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2025 If the Dodgers win Snell’s (and presumably Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s) starts against the Reds to sweep the set, Ohtani could pitch Game 1 of the NLDS.—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
Security sweep on course As the Republican candidate stood on the fifth-hole putting green last September, Fercano, the Secret Service agent, was riding a golf cart in a security sweep of the sixth hole and noticed someone hiding behind a chain-link fence in the southeast corner of the course.—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025 In Pynchon’s best works, his bleakness is brightened, in both senses—illuminated and made lighter—by the sweep of his vision and his affection for his fallible, foolhardy, well-meaning, wildly outmatched main characters.—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sweep
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English swepen; akin to Old English swāpan to sweep, Old High German sweifen to wander
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