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

The cast of Wicked must have felt swept up in a tornado. —Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025

In the film's final scene, Mooney is swept up in a crowd of anti-Vietnam War protesters, forced to atone for his actions, in what is eventually revealed to be Downtown Cincinnati. —Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer, 17 Oct. 2025

Kordia, who felt lightheaded, sat on a sidewalk and was swept up in the arrests; she was handcuffed and shuttled by bus to police headquarters, where she was forced to remove her hijab for a search. —Aida Alami, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025

They’d been too swept up in just getting to their goal of a baby, thinking that would be the end of it all. —Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for sweep up

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