sweep down

Related to sweep down: sweep off

sweep down

1. To rush, flow, or pour down (something). A great flood of water swept down the ravine. A frigid wind swept down from the summit, chilling us to our bones.
2. To clean or clear something by brushing its surface very lightly and quickly, as with a broom or brush. A noun or pronoun can be used between "sweep" and "down." Make sure you sweep the floor down before you begin mopping, or you'll just smear dirt around. She swept down the ancient tombstone so she could decipher the inscriptions.
See also: down, sweep
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

sweep something down

to clean something by sweeping. Please sweep this floor down whenever you make a mess here. Jeff will sweep down the floor before he goes home.
See also: down, sweep
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • come down in buckets
  • come a gutser
  • bucket down
  • be down to (one)
  • be down to somebody/something
  • be down to something
  • be down to (do something)
  • bounce up and down
  • close down
  • close down and shut down
References in periodicals archive
Forecasters have warned of a return to winter, with a band of rain, sleet and snow to sweep down the country over the weekend.
With many areas only just getting over the snowstorms earlier this month, another band of snow is set to sweep down across the country on Thursday.
Scouting For Girls frontman Roy Stride said: "A hurricane could sweep down on T in the Park and it wouldn't make any difference.
A BIG freeze is set to hit the region this weekend when icy Arctic winds are expected to sweep down across the UK.
A new state-of-the-art set and titles means it's the end of the sweep down the Thames into the clockface of Big Ben.
1b and 3b Time 1st pass 0.0 1/2 rubber + 1/2 black + stearic acid + 6PPD(+MVR) + 1/2 rubber 1.5 1/2 black + oil 3.0 Sweep down 4.0 Sweep down 5.0 Sweep down 6.0 Dump @ 160[degrees]C 2nd pass 0.0 1/2 masterbatch + ZnO + 1/2 masterbatch 2.0 Sweep down 3.0 Sweep down 4.0 Dump 3rd pass 0.0 1/2 masterbatch + cure + 1/2 masterbatch 1.0 Sweep down 2.0 Sweep down 3.0 Dump @ 104[degrees]C I.D.
Those hazards include torrents of lava, avalanches of debris and mud, and hot clouds of ash that sweep down the flanks of a volcano at highway speed (SN: 1/13/01, p.
Start on the bank of a rivet-, sweep down over thousands of square miles of American turf, farms, suburbs, and cities, and stop at a line of longitude; it's not exactly a likely method for creating a unique culture.
Rains have swollen rivers in the south of the country, and a wall of water was expected to sweep down into the capital.
Enormous volumes of ash and dust sweep down the slopes in avalanches.
BRITAIN was warned yesterday to brace itself for gales and heavy rain about to sweep down from the Arctic.
The gradient profile reveals many peaks and troughs before the final sweep down to the sea.
The terminology sometimes used in hysteresis-loss measurements is: the first field sweep up is called the "initial branch," the field sweep down is the "descending branch," and the subsequent field sweep up is the "ascending branch." In loss measurements, the worst case is a higher value, in contrast to [I.sub.c] measurements where the lowest value is the worst case.
Then they set out together, Kutuldu on his horse, wearing an ankle-length velvet cloak to protect him against the winds that sweep down from nearby mountains.
I lie here beside the hill, abandoned long to nature's will My buildings down, my people gone, my only sound the wild bird song My mighty birds will fly no more, no more will I hear the Merlins roar Never more my bosom feel the pounding of the aircraft wheel From ageless hills their voices cast, thunderous echoes from the past Yet still in lonely reverie, their great dark wings sweep down on me Laughter, sorrow, hope and pain, never to know these things again Emotions that I came to know, of strange young men so long ago At times emotions need a boost, until my birds come home to roost Often with their shattered wings, broken tails or missing springs No more runway or motor pool, replaced by houses, shops and school Yet memories of long ago remain KEN CHESTER, Middlesbrough