Sweep n. 2.The compass or range of a stroke; as, a long sweep.
3.The compass of any turning body or of any motion; as, the sweep of a door; the sweep of the eye.
4.The compass of anything flowing or brushing; as, the flood carried away everything within its sweep.
5.Violent and general destruction; as, the sweep of an epidemic disease.
6.Direction and extent of any motion not rectlinear; as, the sweep of a compass.
7.Direction or departure of a curve, a road, an arch, or the like, away from a rectlinear line. "The road which makes a small sweep."
8.One who sweeps; a sweeper; specifically, a chimney sweeper.
9.(Founding) A movable templet for making molds, in loam molding.
10.(Naut.) (a)The mold of a ship when she begins to curve in at the rungheads; any part of a ship shaped in a segment of a circle.
(b)A large oar used in small vessels, partly to propel them and partly to steer them.
11.(Refining) The almond furnace. (Obs.)
12.A long pole, or piece of timber, moved on a horizontal fulcrum fixed to a tall post and used to raise and lower a bucket in a well for drawing water. (Variously written swape, sweep, swepe, and swipe)
13.(Card Playing) In the game of casino, a pairing or combining of all the cards on the board, and so removing them all; in whist, the winning of all the tricks (thirteen) in a hand; a slam.
14.pl. The sweeping of workshops where precious metals are worked, containing filings, etc.
Sweep net, a net for drawing over a large compass.
Sweep of the tiller (Naut.), a circular frame on which the tiller traverses.
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