sweeper

Everyday

1. A sweeper is a person whose job is to sweep, such as a street sweeper or road sweeper. tree →
2. A sweeper is a machine or tool for sweeping, like a carpet sweeper or a street-cleaning truck. tree →
3. (sport) In football, a sweeper is a defender who plays behind the other defenders to stop attacks. tree →
4. (sport) In curling, a sweeper brushes the ice in front of the stone. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday town life, children see road-sweeper trucks and street sweepers. In PE and football, the sweeper is a position. In history stories, chimney sweeps (also called sweepers) were sometimes small children, which was cruel and was later banned. Phrases: «street sweeper», «road sweeper», «carpet sweeper».

Examples

• The street sweeper cleaned up the leaves. tree →
• A big road sweeper drove past with its brushes spinning. tree →
• Nan uses a carpet sweeper on the rug. tree →
• He played as the sweeper in our football team. tree →
• The sweepers brushed the ice in front of the curling stone. tree →
• The sweeper came early to clean the market square. tree →
• The news of Nag’s death was all over the garden, for the sweeper had thrown the body on the rubbish-heap. tree →

Note

Countable. From «sweep» + -er. A «chimney sweep» is usually just called «a sweep», not «a sweeper».