carpet sweeper
1
3.5
- noun
- /ˈkɑːrpɪt ˈswiːpər/
- Archaic
:
cepillo de alfombra
- Harold and Susan washed the dishes, and by the time they were done, my mother and I had folded up the gateleg table, and I had swept the crumbs up with the carpet sweeper.
Examples
-
Every Saturday, I use the carpet sweeper to clean the living room carpet.
-
And she was an old lady more than sixty years old who, had she not been so foolish and self-willed, might have had a house full of servants to push that carpet sweeper for her!
Fiction book (1996) -
She kept the table dusted and ran the carpet sweeper in the corner late every evening.
Fiction book (1994) -
Outside the door to our room, an old-fashioned carpet sweeper trundled back and forth with a gravelly sound.
Fiction book (1997) -
She quickly grabbed the carpet sweeper to tidy up the mess before the guests arrived.
-
After vacuuming, I still ran the carpet sweeper to ensure the carpet was completely clean.
Synonyms
88
1.6
A machine that cleans floors and carpets by sucking up dust and dirt
41
1.0
An electric machine that cleans floors and carpets by sucking up dust
6
1.9
A cleaning machine with revolving brushes you push to pick up dirt from floors
2
3.6
A machine that removes dust and dirt from floors and carpets
A small vacuum you hold to clean crumbs in cars or on sofas
A small portable machine that sucks up dirt from chairs or car seats
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'carpet' (floor covering) + 'sweeper' (a device that sweeps): together they denote a device for sweeping carpets. This noun–noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistic compounding pattern and would be readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Carpet sweeper probably comes from the simple idea of a carpet and a sweeper because it 'sweeps' a rug with turning brushes. Imagine pushing a low box across the floor and the brushes pick up dirt, so the name simply describes that cleaning action.