sweep aside

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

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

1. To push or brush to the side.
   • 1949 January and February, “Notes and News: Damage to Branch Lines”, in Railway Magazine, pages 64–65:

     On this section, the high five-span masonry viaduct over the Whiteadder Water, at Chirnside, withstood the flood, but four of the six spans of the bridge carrying the siding to the nearby paper mill were demolished, and the track, with the sleepers still in position, was swept aside, on to the river bank.

2. (idiomatic) To overcome an obstacle with little effort.
   • 2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     Wolves swept aside Championship outfit Doncaster at Molineux to earn a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

3. (idiomatic) To ignore, brush off.