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

But dammit if we didn’t get swept up in this sentimental crowd-pleaser, which is loosely inspired by Alicia Keys’ formative years and pulls from her catalog of songs. —Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024

Last month, a 19-year-old man went missing in the Trinity River near Hoopa after he and another person attempted to rescue a girl who was swept up in the current. —Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 10 May 2024

There are definitely two sides to the coin of getting swept up in our show’s release for sure. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 8 May 2024

Narrowly winning that battle last month, Himes and Turner worked to kill an amendment that would have forced FBI employees to get search warrants before reviewing the communications of Americans swept up by the program. —Dell Cameron and William Turton, WIRED, 8 May 2024

For laughs, watch Eddie Murphy's wise-cracking cop shake up Southern California once more in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Want to get, uh, swept up in adventure? —Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024

Hackers are sweeping up a wide variety of data points about people, including their email address, bank account information, Social Security number and location. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024

Other plants, like some trees, are pollinated when wind sweeps up its pollen and drops it somewhere new. —Michaela Mulligan, Miami Herald, 1 May 2024

The smallest of these particles can get swept up by the wind and travel great distances: Approximately 22,000 tons of Saharan dust reach as far as the Amazon each year, and the phosphorus in these particles helps fertilize the rainforest’s soil. —Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2024