• vt. 掃除；猛拉；撣去
• vi. 掃，打掃；席卷；掃視；襲擊
• n. 打掃，掃除；范圍；全勝

來自古英語 swapan,清掃，打掃，來自 Proto-Germanic*swaipana,清掃，打掃，來自 PIE*swei, 彎，轉，搖擺，詞源同 swoop,swing.引申諸相關詞義。

sweep

sweep: [13] The Old English word for ‘sweep’ was swāpan, which evolved into Middle English swope. Modern English sweep, which began to emerge in the 13th century, probably came from the old past tense swepe, a descendant of Old English swēop. Swāpan itself came from a prehistoric Germanic base *swei- ‘swing, bend’, which also produced German schweifen ‘wander’ and English swift. Swipe [19] probably originated as a dialectal variant of sweep.
=> swift, swipe

sweep (v.)

early 14c., "make clean by sweeping with a broom;" mid-14c., "perform the act of sweeping," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a past tense form of Middle English swope "sweep," from Old English swapan "to sweep" (transitive & intransitive); see swoop (v.), or perhaps from a Scandinavian source. Related: Swept; sweeping.

From late 14c. as "hasten, rush, move swiftly and strongly;" also "collect by sweeping." From c. 1400 in transitive sense "drive quickly, impel, move or carry forward by force;" mid-15c. as "clear (something) away." Meaning "win all the events" is 1960, American English. Sense of "pass systematically over in search of something" is from 1966. To sweep (someone) off (his or her) feet "affect with infatuation" is from 1913.

sweep (n.)

mid-13c., "stroke, force," from sweep (v.). Meaning "act of sweeping" is from 1550s. From 1670s as "range, extent of a continued motion." In reference to police or military actions, it is attested from 1837. Sense of "a winning of all the tricks in a card game" is from 1814 (see sweepstakes); extended to other sports by 1960. Meaning "rapid survey or inspection" is from 1966. As a shortened form of chimney-sweeper, first attested 1796.

1. With one sweep of her hand she threw back the sheets.

她手一揮掀開了床單。

來自柯林斯例句

2. The anti-drug sweep had netted nearly 900 kilogrammes of cocaine.

掃毒行動已繳獲了近900千克的可卡因。

來自柯林斯例句

3. Get a broom and sweep up that glass will you?

拿掃帚把那些玻璃清掃干凈好嗎？

來自柯林斯例句

4. Two of the soldiers swiftly began making a sweep of the premises.

兩名士兵立即開始搜索該建筑物。

來自柯林斯例句

5. In times of war, governments often sweep human rights aside.

戰爭時期，政府經常對人權置之不顧。

來自柯林斯例句