sweep up

English

Verb

sweep up (third-person singular simple present sweeps up, present participle sweeping up, simple past and past participle swept up)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To clean by sweeping.

   I'll wash the floor after sweeping up.

   We swept up the leaves which had blown into the shop.

2. (transitive) To transport to shore by waves.
   • 1897, Edmondo De Amicis, Maria Hornor Lansdale, Morocco its people and places:

     The only thing that frees the country from this curse is a favorable wind; this blows them into the sea, where they drown and are swept up on the beach for days afterwards in great heaps

3. (transitive, usually passive) to overwhelm, to cause to become overly involved in.

   We got swept up in the excitement.

Anagrams

• upsweep