street broom
1
3.9
- noun
- /strit brum/
- The city worker used a street broom to clear the sidewalks after the parade.
Examples
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Old-fashioned street brooms with wooden handles are still used in some towns.
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Every morning, she sweeps the market area with a sturdy street broom.
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The city uses a street broom for cleaning the roads.
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A street broom was left near the park.
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Every morning, the janitor sweeps the park with a large street broom.
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In the town square, a worker was using a street broom to clean up after the festival.
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The maintenance crew used a street broom to remove debris from the busy sidewalk.
Synonyms
101
1.0
A tool with a long handle and a bundle of twigs used for sweeping floors
4
3.2
A wide cleaning tool with a long handle that you push to sweep floors
A simple broom made from dried stalks that people use to sweep floors or outdoor areas
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'street broom' is a straightforward noun+noun composition whose meaning — a broom used for streets — is directly and transparently derivable from 'street' (public road) + 'broom' (sweeping tool). This compositional pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Street broom comes from the simple picture of a town worker using a large, sturdy broom to sweep a street clean. Because these brooms were made to clear outdoor areas of leaves and trash, the phrase now means 'a large broom for sweeping streets or public areas'.