1
as in flows
to move or proceed smoothly and readily
the wind swept across the plain without respite
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in curves
to turn away from a straight line or course
from this point the mountain range sweeps to the northeast and extends into the next state
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in confines
an area over which activity, capacity, or influence extends
Mrs. Griswold has been a teacher for so long that the sweep of her influence extends across three generations of the townspeople
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sweeps
Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
The council vote came a day after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority lifted a restraining order issued by a lower court that prohibited federal agents conducting immigration sweeps from stopping people based solely on their race, language, job or location.
—Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 11 Sep. 2025
Each year, the great migration sweeps across the Serengeti in Tanzania.
—Judy Koutsky, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
As Powerball excitement sweeps the nation for hopeful gamblers, aspiring players in certain states shouldn't get their hopes up, and not because of the long odds to win.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Instead, its breathless, queasy energy sweeps us along.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2025
The traffic sweeps continued through the week, sparking terror in Nashville’s immigrant community and accusations of racial profiling and pretextual traffic stops.
—Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 29 Aug. 2025
Yoo wears round wire-frame glasses and sweeps his dark hair back; Schat describes herself as a tomboy and keeps her hair in a pixie cut.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2025
Millions of residents across five states are being warned to avoid prolonged sun exposure as extreme heat sweeps across parts of the western United States.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
The senators’ visit to North Chicago came as the city and suburbs braced for immigration sweeps and many also continued protesting, including dozens outside an ICE processing center in Broadview Friday morning.
—Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
O’Connell has publicly condemned immigration sweeps that have led to the detention of hundreds of individuals who lived in Nashville.
—Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Sep. 2025
The appellate court had held that the INS could not rely on these immigration sweeps but, rather, needed to articulate objective facts and rational inferences to support a reasonable suspicion that each person detained is undocumented.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
The carrier group did not mention anti-submarine sweeps for any specific vessels.
—John Feng
robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
When the London Underground was new, Victoria was Queen, chimneys had sweeps and England was more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
The school had issued an active shooter alert, telling students to stay clear of Law School Scarpa Hall and lock and barricade doors while police conducted sweeps of the campus.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2025
Many of those sweeps haven’t required the assistance of the California Guard.
—Cristian Farias, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
The operations in Boston and Chicago are modeled after the June immigration sweeps in Los Angeles.
—Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
The council vote came a day after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority lifted a restraining order issued by a lower court that prohibited federal agents conducting immigration sweeps from stopping people based solely on their race, language, job or location.
—Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 11 Sep. 2025
Each year, the great migration sweeps across the Serengeti in Tanzania.
—Judy Koutsky, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
As Powerball excitement sweeps the nation for hopeful gamblers, aspiring players in certain states shouldn't get their hopes up, and not because of the long odds to win.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Instead, its breathless, queasy energy sweeps us along.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2025
The traffic sweeps continued through the week, sparking terror in Nashville’s immigrant community and accusations of racial profiling and pretextual traffic stops.
—Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 29 Aug. 2025
Yoo wears round wire-frame glasses and sweeps his dark hair back; Schat describes herself as a tomboy and keeps her hair in a pixie cut.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2025
Millions of residents across five states are being warned to avoid prolonged sun exposure as extreme heat sweeps across parts of the western United States.
—Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Aug. 2025
Noun
Gentle sweeps and curves are better than straight rows that merely repeat the legal lines of your property boundaries.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
The senators’ visit to North Chicago came as the city and suburbs braced for immigration sweeps and many also continued protesting, including dozens outside an ICE processing center in Broadview Friday morning.
—Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
O’Connell has publicly condemned immigration sweeps that have led to the detention of hundreds of individuals who lived in Nashville.
—Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Sep. 2025
The appellate court had held that the INS could not rely on these immigration sweeps but, rather, needed to articulate objective facts and rational inferences to support a reasonable suspicion that each person detained is undocumented.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
The carrier group did not mention anti-submarine sweeps for any specific vessels.
—John Feng
robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
When the London Underground was new, Victoria was Queen, chimneys had sweeps and England was more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
The school had issued an active shooter alert, telling students to stay clear of Law School Scarpa Hall and lock and barricade doors while police conducted sweeps of the campus.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2025
Many of those sweeps haven’t required the assistance of the California Guard.
—Cristian Farias, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sweeps
Verb
-
An inner radiative zone (makes up 70 percent of the Sun by radius), where energy flows smoothly and the whole region spins together like a solid ball, and the outer convective zone (the remaining 30 percent), where hot gases swirl chaotically and spin at different speeds depending on location.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
-
And just like historical colonialism, this influence flows primarily in one direction – from powerful tech companies to the rest of us.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The mortality curves from Gompertz models associated with the three migratory strategies are presented on panel A–C—the death rates m(x) (gray dots) are also presented.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
As the road curves around, the Inland Sea comes into view, its small pool feeding into the ocean through a massive slit in the cliff.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
But, as always, the talk drifts toward quarterbacks, that uniquely American job with uniquely American responsibilities.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Modern systems analyze patterns of active work, idle stretches and meeting length in real time, giving leaders a live feed of how productivity drifts through a day.—
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Clearly delineate roles and scopes.—
Vinayak Mahtani,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The plushy Outlast Forever Velvet Pigment continues the tradition but with a comfortable, flexible formula that glides on smooth and dries down matte without drying out your lips.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Particularly when set to the Maybach-only suspension/powertrain calibration, the car just glides even over the horrible roads of Southern California.—
Mark Ewing,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In this paradigm, individuals’ ability to achieve their goals emerges from the economic rather than political or social realms.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
8 Sep. 2025
-
These leaders are the future of our communities in both the corporate and nonprofit realms.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
On the outer reaches, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) struggled to harness her psychic powers, visions that made the Mule’s pursuit feel like fate closing in.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The central young star, or protostar, weighing as much as 10 of our suns, is located 15,000 light-years away in the outer reaches of our galaxy.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Along the way, bitcoin has broken out from five prior downward-sloping ranges similar to this one—a positive technical sign.—
Frank Cappelleri,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Investigators used tools including open-source information and high-resolution satellite images to identify the sites and specifics such as firing ranges and trenches.—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sweeps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sweeps. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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