English edit

Etymology edit

over- +‎ sweep

Verb edit

oversweep (third-person singular simple present oversweeps, present participle oversweeping, simple past and past participle overswept)

  1. (transitive) To sweep over; to cover by sweeping.
    • 1817, John Keats, I stood tip-toe upon a little hill:
      Ah, sure no tasteful nook would be without them
      And let a lush laburnum oversweep them,
      And let long grass grow round the roots to keep them
      Moist, cool and green; and shade the violets
      That they may bind the moss in leafy nets.