to sweep away
16
3.8
- phrasal verb
- /swip əˈweɪ/
:
barrer
- To establish the new order, the remnants of the old must be swept away.
Then maybe we could sweep the egg shells away for a minute.
- Then maybe we could sweep the egg shells away for a minute.
- And you're now going to sweep all this excess away.
- So now I'm going to sweep away all my loose powder that's been baking.
- Well, because Jeff Bezos just did an amazing job and swept the market away.
- I'm just going to kind of bake with it and then I'm just going to immediately sweep that away.
- So the doubt means I'm going to sweep away everything else and build on things that I myself can, can learn.
- who builds the house and the house is built on sand. And when the storms come and the floods come, the house is swept away.
- The egg shells got swept away for a few days.
Examples
-
That entire world was swept away by the digital tsunami.
-
Her doubts were swept away by the overwhelming support of her friends.
-
All the opposition was swept away, and it became law in October of 1992.
Academic text (1994) -
Many tried the waters, only to be swept away in the currents.
Fiction book (1999) -
They sweep away everything in their path.
-
I'm going to sweep away this excess powder.
-
The last remnants of the old Republic have been swept away.
-
A fervour for the rights of man and the citizen is sweeping away the old regime.
-
Under these unusual conditions, he was able to sweep away the whole structure of democratic checks and balances.
Academic text (2018) -
Within a month, protests had swept away Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's dictator for 23 years.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
∞
1.5
To move something or someone away from a place
∞
1.6
To remove or throw away something you do not want
∞
1.5
To remove people or things from a place
948
1.9
To remove something from a place or container
502
3.4
Remove or kill something completely so it is gone
260
1.0
To empty something completely
227
1.0
To clean a floor or surface by brushing away dirt with a broom
202
1.8
To put something in the trash because you do not want it
189
4.2
Destroy something so nothing is left
156
2.2
Remove all traces of something from memory or history
91
3.1
Remove all things from a place so it becomes empty
91
3.2
Empty a place or container by removing everything inside
88
3.7
Remove something so it is no longer used
71
7.5
To destroy something completely so nothing remains
60
6.9
To destroy something completely, often on purpose
56
4.1
Deal with and finish a problem or task so it no longer causes trouble
51
4.5
Force unwanted people or things out of a place, often using water
49
6.3
To remove unwanted substances, things, or people by cleaning
42
2.7
Remove all covering or contents from an object so it is left bare
29
4.6
To make a feeling or idea go away
28
2.0
To remove something from a surface by moving a cloth over it, like tears or dirt
27
4.0
Remove an outside layer or covering from something to show what is under it
21
8.8
To remove all signs of something like a record or memory so it cannot be found
20
1.0
Remove dirt or marks from a surface by rubbing with a cloth
10
1.8
To take things away from a place to make it tidy
9
2.0
Clean something using water to remove dirt or stains
8
3.0
Remove things from a surface to make it empty or clean
7
4.3
To make people forget and stop caring about something
4
4.1
To throw away things you no longer want
3
4.0
To remove unwanted people or things to make a group work better
3
4.7
To ignore an opinion or worry as unimportant
2
8.1
To remove something so it is no longer visible or remembered
1
2.2
To remove dirt or leaves from a place using a broom
1
9.9
To destroy something completely, including its root
1
1.0
To remove dirt or mud from a surface
To remove unwanted parts from something after checking it carefully
Antonyms
How Complete
16
3.8
189
4.2
- NSFW
502
3.4
1
2.2
10
1.8
∞
1.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to remove or destroy completely' is directly derivable from combining 'sweep' (to move or remove by sweeping) with 'away' (removed/going away), yielding a typical motion/causative sense of complete removal. This compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Sweep away comes from the image of a broom or strong water that clears everything off a floor or the land. The action sweeps things away so nothing is left, so when people say they will 'sweep away' corruption or old rules, they mean 'to remove something completely'.