sweeper

noun

sweep·​er ˈswē-pər How to pronounce sweeper (audio)
1
: one that sweeps
2
: a lone back in soccer who plays between the line of the defenders and the goal

Examples of sweeper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Injured on the job and sporting a wooden leg, Lewis was known more for his job as a street sweeper than a musician. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2023 Spencer Torkelson worked a four-pitch walk with two outs in the seventh inning, but Ohtani bounced back by striking out Carpenter on three pitches — 98.4 mph four-seam fastball (called strike), 85.7 mph sweeper (called strike) and 81.5 mph curveball (swinging strike) — for the third out. Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 27 July 2023 In a 10-pitch battle with Hill, Freeman fell into an immediate 0-and-2 hole, fouled off four pitches while working the count full, then turned on an inside sweeper, launching his 23rd home run of the season on a no-doubt trajectory to right field. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2023 Traffic was subsequently diverted off at Dunbar Lane while the sweeper truck worked the area. Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Oct. 2023 The top places for street sweeping tickets There are nearly 2,400 miles of streets across L.A. where the city’s fleet of sweepers clean up trash every other week, preventing debris from clogging storm drains and reaching waterways. Cari Spencer, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2023 Wheeler pitches primarily off his four-seam and two-seam fastballs in the 95-96 mph range while also mixing in sliders, sweepers and curveballs. Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 13 June 2023 Cleaning up foliage from your patios, driveways, and sidewalks is a breeze with the S 4 Twin sweeper. Wendy Vazquez, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2023 The 24-year-old first baseman didn't swing at any pitches outside of the strike zone before hitting left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer's poorly executed full-count sweeper with a 109.6 mph exit velocity. Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 3 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sweeper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sweeper was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near sweeper

Cite this Entry

“Sweeper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweeper. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

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