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

At Birmingham, in a cup semi-final against one of League One’s most expensive squads, we’re swept up in the stakes and the occasion. —Katie Whyatt, New York Times, 17 May 2025

We're also quickly swept up in a trio of life-and-death cases, each with their own accompanying baggage. —Randall Colburn, EW.com, 16 May 2025

The Trump administration's deportation of the migrants to El Salvador drew intense scrutiny because, according to multiple media reports, the men who were swept up in by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were deported without due process and many of them had not been convicted of a crime. —Sonam Sheth gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025

During the birth of the solar system, the planets are thought to have formed and grown through a process known as core accretion, building themselves up by sweeping up rocky debris and adding mass through collisions with other protoplanets. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 6 May 2025

Rhymes for sweep up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup