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
Recently, the National Retail Federation, identified the roll-out of AI agentics as its top prediction for the sector in 2025, followed by gen AI in second, and AI’s role in integrating retailer systems, third—a clean sweep for the emerging technology.
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Jill Standish, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Listen to this article Mayoral races in Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles were not a clean sweep for incumbents, per unofficial election results, but the apparent winners in all three contests are all familiar names in the area.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
That 2005-06 season saw Linfield complete a clean sweep of all four domestic trophies, but a recurring medial knee injury limited Mulgrew’s game time.
—Colin Millar, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
The women’s team, which has won the past five Women’s Super League titles, and is still on course to win a clean sweep of every trophy available to them this season, is suitably prominent in the exhibition.
—Asif Burhan, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean sweep
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Jill Standish, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Listen to this article Mayoral races in Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles were not a clean sweep for incumbents, per unofficial election results, but the apparent winners in all three contests are all familiar names in the area.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
That 2005-06 season saw Linfield complete a clean sweep of all four domestic trophies, but a recurring medial knee injury limited Mulgrew’s game time.
—Colin Millar, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
The women’s team, which has won the past five Women’s Super League titles, and is still on course to win a clean sweep of every trophy available to them this season, is suitably prominent in the exhibition.
—Asif Burhan, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clean sweep
Cite this Entry
“Clean sweep.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20sweep. Accessed 10 May. 2025.
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