SWEEPS Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

sweeps 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of sweep

as in flows

to move or proceed smoothly and readily the wind swept across the plain without respite

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in curves

to turn away from a straight line or course from this point the mountain range sweeps to the northeast and extends into the next state

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

straightens

sweeps

2 of 2

noun

plural of sweep

as in confines

an area over which activity, capacity, or influence extends Mrs. Griswold has been a teacher for so long that the sweep of her influence extends across three generations of the townspeople

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of sweeps

Verb

As the star spins, the magnetic field coming out of the surface catches that wind and sweeps it up. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026 Sign up for the newsletter When the rain does fall, Kabul’s hard, impermeable surfaces mean the water doesn’t replenish aquifers, but instead sweeps through the city as flash floods, destroying homes, killing people and rolling away. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026 Expect to feel the winds shifting in Northern California Friday, and Saturday for Southern California, as cooler air finally sweeps in. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026 Lay sweeps the little boy into her arms; the audience dabs at tears. — Joan Kron, Allure, 28 Sep. 2026 The video sweeps around a reveling fiefdom, showing everyone from peasants to dukes partying and getting it on. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026 His other hand sweeps by me and bruises into my brother’s face. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026 Intimate and immersive, the film sweeps across four years and a dozen countries. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026 The new study, however, hypothesizes that shell direction is not itself an adaptive response, but rather is an accidental marker of a significant evolutionary event that starts in a small subpopulation and then sweeps across vast ocean basins. — Quanta Magazine, 11 Sep. 2026

Noun

Yes, this was the same Brewers team that had been swept by the Dodgers in the 2025 NLCS, marking the first time in baseball history that two teams exchanged sweeps in consecutive years. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Baumann recommends blocking access by installing door sweeps, placing steel wool around pipe penetrations, and sealing cracks in the foundation. — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 8 Oct. 2026 Chandler primarily uses his guitars to produce radar sweeps of drone, which allows Schwendener’s bass to take full responsibility for Beat’s melodies. — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026 While the three other wild card series ended in two-game sweeps, the matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies has delivered exceptional postseason drama. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 But the sweeps are still casting a chill across this rural farming region that has relied heavily on immigrant labor since the 1950s. — Kirk Siegler, NPR, 28 Sep. 2026 Postal employees worked overtime, conducting daily sweeps and all-clear checks. — Lee Moak, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026 The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, which originally filed the lawsuit on behalf of citizens and legal residents caught in Arpaio’s sweeps, celebrated the current ruling. — Yana Kunichoff, ProPublica, 18 Sep. 2026 The airy texture of the powder adds to the soft-focus effect, blurring pores and fine lines in a few quick sweeps—a no-brainer finishing touch for any makeup look. — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sweeps

Verb

More than 99 percent of international data flows through submarine telecommunications cables, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026
Important information flows back to the people responsible for moving the relationship forward.

— Karen Cochran, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of flows

Verb

Ukiah to Boonville Head southwest on Highway 253, a two-lane road that curves through a dense forest.

— Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2026
Out front, a striking carport canopy dramatically curves over the angled driveway, suspended by slender steel support columns.

— Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of curves

Noun

Confining Employees To Rigid Roles As a business grows, team members with rigid, constrained scopes may stop working or supporting others outside their existing scope.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 15 Oct. 2026
These involve a cancer screening test, followed by a surgical procedure involving robotic scopes.

— Tara Molina, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of scopes

Verb

His attention drifts towards intimate details – the bare armpit, the small hollow at the base of Rafael’s neck – and the music follows him into this increasingly private, almost obsessive fascination.

— Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Filmed largely in natural daylight, the film drifts between still, unhurried, panning shots to evoke not only the spiritual energy that keeps the temples humming but also a world in slow, gradual decay.

— Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of drifts

Noun

Dante populated his realms of Hell and Purgatory with figures, monsters and moral frameworks borrowed directly from classical Greek and Roman myths.

— Ed Meza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
His lack of experience in the realms of ballet, classical music, opera, and jazz, formerly the center’s mainstays, have concerned some onlookers.

— News Desk, Artforum, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of realms

Noun

In the summer of 2013, a local public-health official named Cristóbal Villar sent out a message on Radio Nacional Malargüe directed to a handful of pastoralist families scattered across the upper reaches of the Barrancas River.

— Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Suspicion about the reaches and aims of Big Tech has been shown to be grounded and, frankly, reasonable.

— Meredith Haggerty, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of reaches

Noun

What emerges is a picture of migratory birds that is both more complicated and more remarkable than the simple arrows pointing between breeding and wintering ranges on a map.

— Amy L. Scarpignato, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
Her shoe wardrobe ranges from classic block-heel ballerinas to whimsical dainty sandals adorned with lemons.

— Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026