to sweep the floor
14
1.0
- phrasal verb
- /swip ðə flɔr/
:
barrer el suelo
- We get locked in every night at Walmart to sweep and wax the floors, vacuum the carpeted areas.
- sweep the kitchen floor
- daily to sweep the floor
- used to sweep the floor
And this man was employed to sweep the floor.
- And this man was employed to sweep the floor.
- Cleanliness, Boise We didn't have time on our schedule to sweep the floor.
- And this man who was employed to sweep the floor.
Examples
-
Sweeping the floor is the servants' job... not yours, child.
-
I can paint the walls, sweep the floors, clean the stove...
Fiction book (1990) -
I told you to sweep the floor
-
In one of the rooms, a young woman was sweeping the floor.
Fiction book (1991) -
Wait, I'll sweep the floor.
-
- What am I supposed to do, just take out the trash and sweep the floor?
-
Man, man, this was my first job, sweeping the floor in the Barber shop.
-
A big, healthy man like you can't sweep the floor?
-
Before he moved the desks and swept the floor, he read the blackboard, as usual.
Fiction book (1990) -
Every Saturday, I sweep the floor to keep the house clean.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To remove dirt and stains
531
1.0
To clean and dry a surface by rubbing it with a cloth or your hand
433
1.0
To make a room or area free of dirt and tidy by removing mess
242
1.0
To move a brush across something to clean or paint it
227
1.0
To clean a floor or surface by brushing away dirt with a broom
66
1.0
To remove small dry particles from a surface by wiping or brushing
55
1.0
To clean something by rubbing it hard with a brush and water
48
1.7
Clean a floor or carpet with a machine that sucks up dirt
37
1.0
To clean a floor with a long handle and wet cloth
9
1.0
To remove dirt or spills from the floor using a mop
5
2.6
To remove liquid or dirt from a floor with a cloth
3
4.2
To clean a floor or carpet with a vacuum cleaner
1
2.2
To remove dirt or leaves from a place using a broom
1
4.3
To clean a carpet or floor using a vacuum cleaner
To clean a boat's deck with a broom
To clean dust and dirt from something using quick movements
To clean a carpet or floor with a vacuum cleaner
How Clean
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to clean the floor by moving dirt or dust away with a broom' is directly and compositionally derived from 'sweep' (remove dirt by sweeping) + 'the floor' (the room's bottom surface); the definite article does not change the compositional semantics. This is a straightforward verb + object construction common across languages and standard English usage, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Sweep the floor comes from the simple action of using a broom to sweep dust and dirt across the floor into a pile or out the door, and that's the clear picture people remember. So it means 'to clean the floor'.