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Glite Dictionary
to sweep up

to sweep up

7 5.8
To get carried into a situation and take part without meaning to
  • phrasal verb
  • /swip ʌp/
translation icon : verse arrastrado
  • We both got swept up in the moment.
  • get swept up
  • swept up in the investigation
  • swept up in the moment

They are then swept up by Catherine's idea of a new Russia.

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Examples

  • While the leading figures of the March events were all Magyars, German-speaking Hungarians were also swept up in the excitement.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Soon she is swept up in an unfamiliar world of mystery, wild romance, secret societies, and danger.

    Blog text (29)

  • So I was sort of swept up in that, look, you did the tough thing during COVID.

    Megyn Kelly

  • These were people's homes, but they got swept up in the conflict.

  • Just to plant my own flag so I don't get swept up in some of those things.

    Tom Bilyeu

  • You go out, people are chanting, you're yelling, and you just get swept up in the crowd.

  • Many were essentially bystanders who had been swept up in dragnets or turned over to the U.S. military by bounty hunters.

    Blog text (8)

  • During the rally, I felt myself get swept up in the excitement of the crowd.

  • Many people were swept up in the enthusiasm of the festival without realizing how late it was.

  • As the conversation heated up, I couldn't help but get swept up in the debate.

Synonyms

to drag
vsto sweep up
704 2.0

To pull something along the ground with effort or force someone into a place unwillingly

involves becoming part of events without deliberate pulling or physical force
to sweep
vsto sweep up
114 4.6

To cause people to become involved suddenly by strong feeling or events

is carried along passively rather than being forced by strong pressure
to tangle
vsto sweep up
37 6.0

To involve someone in a difficult situation, often without meaning to

means being carried into events without the emphasis on complication or accident
to embroil
vsto sweep up
22 7.7

To bring someone deeply into an argument or serious problem

is generally about being drawn into situations not limited to conflicts
to sweep off
vsto sweep up
  • Informal
21 5.6

To make someone feel a sudden strong feeling, often romantic

involves being drawn into events not only sudden emotional overwhelm
to drag in
vsto sweep up
8 6.0

To involve someone in a situation they do not want to be part of

is about being carried into events by momentum rather than by external force
to sweep away
vsto sweep up
7 4.6

To feel very strong emotions that you cannot control

means being part of a situation without strong emotional focus

Antonyms

to withdraw
466 2.8

To stop taking part in a place or activity

to resist
311 2.2

Act against authority, rules or change

How Involved

caught up
114 5.2
to sweep up
7 5.8
to join in
143 1.1
to observe
619 2.4
to stand back
159 1.6

Surface Forms

sweep up infinitive
sweeping up present participle
sweeps up third person singular
swept up past
swept up past participle

Morphology

sweep + up

The meaning 'to be carried or involved in a situation' is a metaphorical extension of 'sweep' (to draw or carry along) with 'up' adding intensity/completeness; the metaphor of being physically swept away maps onto emotional or situational involvement but is not a strictly literal composition. Cross-linguistic parallels (e.g., being 'carried away' or 'swept along' in other languages) make the sense inferable from context, yet the non-literal emotional sense and potential confusion with the literal 'cleaning' sense mean a B1 learner who only knows the parts would not fully predict the meaning.

Etymology

The verb sweep up comes from the image of a strong movement that pulls things along. One common story says imagine a wave or wind that sweeps you up and carries you along, so being 'swept up' means you are taken into a situation or feeling without meaning to.