Meaning & use
sweeper
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person whose job is to clean floors or streets by sweeping them.
Grammar: A countable noun, often used in compounds: a street sweeper, a chimney sweeper.
Patterns
- a street sweeper
- a sweeper of something
The street sweeper started work at dawn, before the shops opened.
A sweeper came through the market after closing time.
My uncle worked as a chimney sweeper for twenty years.
nouncountable
A machine or tool that sweeps, such as a vehicle that cleans roads or a device for a carpet.
Grammar: Countable and usually has a describing word before it: a carpet sweeper, a road sweeper.
Patterns
- a carpet sweeper
- a road sweeper
A road sweeper spun slowly along the curb, collecting dust and leaves.
She pushed the carpet sweeper across the rug to pick up crumbs.
The city bought two new sweepers to clean the parking lots.
nouncountablesport
In soccer, a defender who plays behind the other defenders and is free to clear danger rather than mark a particular opponent.
Grammar: Countable and positional: He plays as a sweeper. The role is now less common in modern formations.
Patterns
- play as a sweeper
- a sweeper behind the back line
The coach used a sweeper to cover any mistakes by the other defenders.
He played as a sweeper for his club in the 1980s.
The sweeper cleared the ball off the line just in time.
Word forms
| plural | sweepers |
|---|
Common combinations
- street sweeper
- A street sweeper cleared the broken glass after the parade.
- chimney sweeper
- The chimney sweeper arrived with brushes and a vacuum.
- carpet sweeper
- A carpet sweeper works without electricity.
- play as a sweeper
- He prefers to play as a sweeper rather than a striker.
- sweeper behind the defense
- A sweeper behind the defense can stop long passes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cleaner
- Cleaner is broader, covering any kind of cleaning work, while sweeper means the job is mainly brushing up dust and litter.
- janitor
- A janitor looks after a whole building, including repairs, so the job is wider than that of a sweeper.
- libero
- Libero is the Italian-derived term for the same soccer position, used by coaches and commentators for the freely roaming defender.
Word family
Commonly confused: sweeper or sweeper-keeper?
sweeper vs sweeper-keeper
A sweeper-keeper is a goalkeeper who also comes out of the penalty area to clear danger, which is different from a sweeper, who is an outfield defender.
Practice
In soccer, what does a sweeper usually do?
Choose one answer.
A sweeper is a defender who plays behind the back line and clears loose balls. Scoring goals belongs to strikers, and the other options describe different tasks.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sweeper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.