sweep up
phrasal verb
swept up; sweeping up; sweeps up
1
: to remove dust, dirt, etc., from (something) by using a broom or brush
When I was sweeping up, I found an earring that I had lost.
Can you please sweep up the porch?
2
: to remove (something, such as dust, dirt, etc.) from a surface by using a broom or brush
She swept up the broken glass.
3
: to pick up (someone or something) in one quick, continuous motion
She swept the baby up and carried her to the crib.
4
: to brush or pull (hair) away from the face
—usually used as be swept up
Her hair was swept up in a bun.
Examples of sweep up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This open-air display of some of humanity’s oldest works is being slowly erased by industrial pollution from a nearby gas plant, according to scientific studies that have been swept up in an almighty clash of competing ambitions for the region’s future.
—
Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
Lawmakers were also swept up into an 11th-hour drama over the Chiefs and Royals as Gov. Mike Kehoe mounted a sudden push to pass a stadiums funding package that ran aground in the state Senate.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2025
He’s consistently cast a cold, yet never chilly eye at his native country’s evolutions, devolutions and detours, with one orb always on the human beings swept up in and/or desperately swimming to keep pace with the waves of change.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025
Deportations have also already swept up U.S. citizen children removed with their parents.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweep up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 May 2025
Lawmakers were also swept up into an 11th-hour drama over the Chiefs and Royals as Gov. Mike Kehoe mounted a sudden push to pass a stadiums funding package that ran aground in the state Senate.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2025
He’s consistently cast a cold, yet never chilly eye at his native country’s evolutions, devolutions and detours, with one orb always on the human beings swept up in and/or desperately swimming to keep pace with the waves of change.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2025
Deportations have also already swept up U.S. citizen children removed with their parents.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweep up
Cite this Entry
“Sweep up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweep%20up. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share