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
Bart Jansen, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026
Even as change sweeps through Austin, many SXSW spots felt timeless — like the big public concerts at Lady Bird Lake, or the Red River venue Cheer Up Charlies, with its outdoor stage framed by a 30-foot-high limestone embankment, creating a cave-band vibe.
—Thor Christensen, Dallas Morning News, 18 Mar. 2026
Any storms will have the potential for damaging winds until the cold front sweeps eastward on Monday morning.
—Stacey Duford, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
Paradise walks away with the Class 3A Division II crown as North Texas sweeps the 3A and 4A title games.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Mar. 2026
Kansas City will go from springlike warmth to winter fast as a powerful storm sweeps through Sunday, bringing damaging winds, a rapid temperature plunge with flash-freeze risk, and a quick burst of snow that could cut visibility, according to the National Weather Service.
—Kansas City Star, 14 Mar. 2026
Ex-rapper's party sweeps Nepal election KATHMANDU, Nepal -- A political party created just four years ago and led by an ex-rapper has swept Nepal's parliamentary poll, results published by the electoral commission on Thursday showed.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2026
In the first part of the two-episode finale, audiences are introduced to Bella (Emma Halleen), a perfectly normal high school student who watches as The Beauty craze sweeps through her world.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026
At the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Commander Tommy Nester finds it behind the ceiling panels, brushes it off the uniforms that aren’t behind glass and sweeps it from the baseboards of the main hall.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Under Noem, intense enforcement operations were launched in places including Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, where immigrants were rounded up in arrest sweeps and protesters clashed with federal officers.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Cities have also been ramping up their sweeps since the Supreme Court ruling — Oakland included.
—Kate Talerico, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
Adding door sweeps can also help close gaps at the threshold.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2026
Instead of detaining recent border crossers almost exclusively, Dilley is now also housing families that had established lives in the United States and were arrested in ICE sweeps.
—Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026
Officers continue to conduct manual and K-9 sweeps of surrounding blocks, inspecting garbage cans, vehicles and other locations where additional devices could potentially be hidden.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Mar. 2026
Aggies looking for back-to-back season sweeps Faced with the opportunity to sweep rival Texas last week, A&M folded on its own floor.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
In IconArrows pointing outwards Getty Images A blaze sweeps following Israeli bombardment on a solar farm and electricity generation facility in Lebanon's southern coastal city of Tyre on March 4, 2026.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
Verb
Confrontational immigration sweeps in Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities where mayors and governors fought him in federal court.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 20 Mar. 2026
Even as change sweeps through Austin, many SXSW spots felt timeless — like the big public concerts at Lady Bird Lake, or the Red River venue Cheer Up Charlies, with its outdoor stage framed by a 30-foot-high limestone embankment, creating a cave-band vibe.
—Thor Christensen, Dallas Morning News, 18 Mar. 2026
Any storms will have the potential for damaging winds until the cold front sweeps eastward on Monday morning.
—Stacey Duford, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026
Paradise walks away with the Class 3A Division II crown as North Texas sweeps the 3A and 4A title games.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Mar. 2026
Kansas City will go from springlike warmth to winter fast as a powerful storm sweeps through Sunday, bringing damaging winds, a rapid temperature plunge with flash-freeze risk, and a quick burst of snow that could cut visibility, according to the National Weather Service.
—Kansas City Star, 14 Mar. 2026
Ex-rapper's party sweeps Nepal election KATHMANDU, Nepal -- A political party created just four years ago and led by an ex-rapper has swept Nepal's parliamentary poll, results published by the electoral commission on Thursday showed.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2026
In the first part of the two-episode finale, audiences are introduced to Bella (Emma Halleen), a perfectly normal high school student who watches as The Beauty craze sweeps through her world.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026
At the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Commander Tommy Nester finds it behind the ceiling panels, brushes it off the uniforms that aren’t behind glass and sweeps it from the baseboards of the main hall.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
Noun
There is precedent for homeless people suing the city or county of Sacramento in connection with sweeps.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Under Noem, intense enforcement operations were launched in places including Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, where immigrants were rounded up in arrest sweeps and protesters clashed with federal officers.
—Rebecca Santana, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
Cities have also been ramping up their sweeps since the Supreme Court ruling — Oakland included.
—Kate Talerico, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
Adding door sweeps can also help close gaps at the threshold.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2026
Instead of detaining recent border crossers almost exclusively, Dilley is now also housing families that had established lives in the United States and were arrested in ICE sweeps.
—Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026
Officers continue to conduct manual and K-9 sweeps of surrounding blocks, inspecting garbage cans, vehicles and other locations where additional devices could potentially be hidden.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 Mar. 2026
Aggies looking for back-to-back season sweeps Faced with the opportunity to sweep rival Texas last week, A&M folded on its own floor.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
In IconArrows pointing outwards Getty Images A blaze sweeps following Israeli bombardment on a solar farm and electricity generation facility in Lebanon's southern coastal city of Tyre on March 4, 2026.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sweeps
Verb
-
Roughly 20% of crude and natural gas normally flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains all but closed to oil tankers and other shipping traffic because of the war.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
An estimated 9,000 gallons reached the San Diego River, which flows past Dog Beach.—
Point Loma-Ob Monthly,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Representing a departure from the artist’s preferred medium of wood, the monument curves outward from a narrow base, its vertical form and vaguely human contours seeming to emanate light, notwithstanding the material’s heft.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Groovy Baby The color combinations on this retro stripe, which curves at the will of the nail artist, are endless.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Nmecha drifts wider to develop the play and ultimately, above, Leeds are left with two lively strikers attacking their deliveries.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Carlson-Wee drifts over to him.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Men in khaki stood with scopes on rooftops nearby, and questions among newer protesters circulated.—
Mark Dee,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Jonathan Cook testified that police also found 100 other firearms, scopes and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As Luna glides into your amicable 7th house, your partnerships have a chance to deepen without putting anyone on the back foot, so to speak.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The easy-to-use roller design features a cooling metal applicator that gently glides across the neck's contours, massaging the lightweight formula into skin without pulling or tugging skin.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In their own realms, General Relativity and the Standard Model can each lay claim to be the most successful physics theory of all-time.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Only spacecraft that are small enough to be battery- or solar-powered, such as the Voyager and Juno missions, have reached these outer realms of our solar system.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Whether — or how often — Thompson and Jones hear a similar refrain when leaving their wine-country homes to campaign in the new, conservative reaches of their district remains to be seen.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Carlos Osorio, a photojournalist with Reuters, recently traveled to Canada’s northern reaches to document military exercises, daily life, robotic testing, wildlife, and more.—
Alan Taylor,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That number includes nearly 30 million who hit traditional driving ranges, simulators and entertainment venues like the ubiquitous Topgolf (a frequent subject of our coverage here at The Dallas Morning News).—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Still, newbies to the compact EV market have plenty of choices with far superior ranges.—
James Raia,
Mercury News,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sweeps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sweeps. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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