clean sweep
noun
1
: a victory in which one side or team wins every game, contest, etc.
The Red Sox won the series in a clean sweep.
The election was a clean sweep for local Democratic candidates.
2
: a complete change in something
The new governor has made a clean sweep of the staff in the governor's mansion.
Examples of clean sweep in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Its electoral losses in northern India were softened by a clean sweep in the eastern state of Odisha.
—
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2024
If Boston secures its 18th title in a clean sweep, ABC will walk away from the Finals with approximately $120 million in ad revenue.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 14 June 2024
Lindsay Mendez could well give Merrily a clean sweep for the show’s starry trio (along with Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe), but two other performances get my vote.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 13 June 2024
Four summers ago, the Nets pulled off the clean sweep, signing superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the 2019 offseason while the Knicks modestly signed Julius Randle to a three-year deal.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2024
Oppenheimer has managed a clean sweep of the 2024 awards season, winning the big award at the SAGs, the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, and now the PGAs.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024
Pagonis went a step further and predicted a clean sweep for big tech.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2024
Swift traffics in numbers beyond comprehension – a tour that generates $1 billion in domestic ticket sales, a clean sweep of Billboard’s Top 5, a 10-minute song topping the chart in an era of TikTok attention spans – but her greatest feat may arrive on Super Bowl Sunday.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2024
White recently completed a clean sweep of this year’s TV awards season, winning an Emmy for his work on season 1 of The Bear and a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and a Critics Choice Award for his performance on season 2 of the show.
—Staff Author, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2024
If Boston secures its 18th title in a clean sweep, ABC will walk away from the Finals with approximately $120 million in ad revenue.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 14 June 2024
Lindsay Mendez could well give Merrily a clean sweep for the show’s starry trio (along with Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe), but two other performances get my vote.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 13 June 2024
Four summers ago, the Nets pulled off the clean sweep, signing superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the 2019 offseason while the Knicks modestly signed Julius Randle to a three-year deal.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2024
Oppenheimer has managed a clean sweep of the 2024 awards season, winning the big award at the SAGs, the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, and now the PGAs.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024
Pagonis went a step further and predicted a clean sweep for big tech.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2024
Swift traffics in numbers beyond comprehension – a tour that generates $1 billion in domestic ticket sales, a clean sweep of Billboard’s Top 5, a 10-minute song topping the chart in an era of TikTok attention spans – but her greatest feat may arrive on Super Bowl Sunday.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2024
White recently completed a clean sweep of this year’s TV awards season, winning an Emmy for his work on season 1 of The Bear and a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and a Critics Choice Award for his performance on season 2 of the show.
—Staff Author, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clean sweep.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clean sweep
Cite this Entry
“Clean sweep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20sweep. Accessed 28 Jun. 2024.
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