SWEEPS Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

sweeps 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of sweep

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

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

straightens

sweeps

2 of 2

noun

plural of sweep

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of sweeps

Verb

On the other hand, the Ni-Co alloy sweeps in to combine the freed hydrogen ions into usable fuel gas. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026 If neither team sweeps the series, up to three additional games will be played. — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026 Like Dillane’s Willoughby, wily and louche, who quite literally sweeps Marianne off her injured foot and into a giggly, schoolyard kind of chaotic sudden romance. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026 As the star spins, the magnetic field coming out of the surface catches that wind and sweeps it up. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026 Sign up for the newsletter When the rain does fall, Kabul’s hard, impermeable surfaces mean the water doesn’t replenish aquifers, but instead sweeps through the city as flash floods, destroying homes, killing people and rolling away. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026 Lay sweeps the little boy into her arms; the audience dabs at tears. — Joan Kron, Allure, 28 Sep. 2026 The video sweeps around a reveling fiefdom, showing everyone from peasants to dukes partying and getting it on. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026 His other hand sweeps by me and bruises into my brother’s face. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

Noun

Yes, this was the same Brewers team that had been swept by the Dodgers in the 2025 NLCS, marking the first time in baseball history that two teams exchanged sweeps in consecutive years. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Baumann recommends blocking access by installing door sweeps, placing steel wool around pipe penetrations, and sealing cracks in the foundation. — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 8 Oct. 2026 Chandler primarily uses his guitars to produce radar sweeps of drone, which allows Schwendener’s bass to take full responsibility for Beat’s melodies. — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026 While the three other wild card series ended in two-game sweeps, the matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies has delivered exceptional postseason drama. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 But the sweeps are still casting a chill across this rural farming region that has relied heavily on immigrant labor since the 1950s. — Kirk Siegler, NPR, 28 Sep. 2026 Postal employees worked overtime, conducting daily sweeps and all-clear checks. — Lee Moak, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026 The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, which originally filed the lawsuit on behalf of citizens and legal residents caught in Arpaio’s sweeps, celebrated the current ruling. — Yana Kunichoff, ProPublica, 18 Sep. 2026 The airy texture of the powder adds to the soft-focus effect, blurring pores and fine lines in a few quick sweeps—a no-brainer finishing touch for any makeup look. — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sweeps

Verb

While oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have largely recovered, the cost to get that crude out has skyrocketed because of expensive and inefficient workarounds being used.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
While several leaders in my survey described stagnant information flows as an impediment to responding to overlapping disruptions, a few also reported tackling internal communications as a way to deal with polycrisis.

— Carol Geffner, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of flows

Verb

Animators studied ostriches before feeding their digital movement curves into a six-axis mechanical rig carrying the performers.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Ukiah to Boonville Head southwest on Highway 253, a two-lane road that curves through a dense forest.

— Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of curves

Noun

Confining Employees To Rigid Roles As a business grows, team members with rigid, constrained scopes may stop working or supporting others outside their existing scope.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 15 Oct. 2026
These involve a cancer screening test, followed by a surgical procedure involving robotic scopes.

— Tara Molina, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of scopes

Verb

Rain chances are low — 10% to 25% — as the front drifts southward during the day.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026
Around me, hands reach up timidly and then with more confidence, and then they are accompanied by applause that drifts from one side of the room to the other and back.

— Sam Kestenbaum, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of drifts

Noun

And even without the holodeck, genres are fluid things that often take from each other to tell stories within each other’s realms.

— Matthew Razak, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2026
The idea of treating Oregon on the same plane as some of the great fantasy realms from my youth like Narnia and Oz and Middle Earth was crazy to even think about.

— Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of realms

Verb

When my skin is this smooth and even-toned, my makeup glides without a hitch, without a pill or skip in sight.

— Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 26 Oct. 2026
The 2026 Best of Beauty winner has a milky texture that glides over skin and a nine-ingredient formula that keeps things uncomplicated.

— Sheryl George, Allure, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of glides

Noun

The tentative plans are to eventually extend their reach to remote bases in harsh weather conditions—potentially near combat zones—and eventually to lunar bases and the outer reaches of the solar system.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026
Related Stories The road movie follows two casting directors into the remote reaches of Mexico, where their search for natural actors for a sci-fi film becomes an unsettling journey into their own fears, biases and preconceptions.

— Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of reaches

Noun

The current design conversation is reframing them as intentional styling tools, which should push manufacturers toward better fabrics, cleaner fits and broader color ranges.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
To his point, expanding size ranges does involve investment in pattern-making, grading, sampling, production, and inventory planning.

— Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2026