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sweeper

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "sweeper", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "sweeper" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "sweeper" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

sweeper is aEnglishnoun. It means: One who sweeps. Pronounced /ˈswipɚ/. Often confused with sweeps and sweeten.

Key facts for sweeper
PropertyValue
Headwordsweeper
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈswipɚ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#33,441
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of sweeper in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sweeper is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈswipɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #33,441 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for sweeper, with forms such as "seweper", "ssweeper", and "sweeepr". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "sweeps", "sweeten", "sweep", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English swepere, swepare, equivalent to sweep + -er. Cognate with Middle Low German swēpære, swēper (“broom for sweeping up debris”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is sweeper, spelled S-W-E-E-P-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who sweeps.
  2. 2
    One who sweeps floors or chimneys.
  3. 3
    A detector for mines.
  4. 4
    Any of the small, tropical marine perciform fishes of the family Pempheridae, typically with deeply keeled, compressed bodies and large eyes.
  5. 5
    A defender who is the last line of defence before the goalkeeper.
  6. 6
    A person who sweeps the ice ahead of the rock in play.
  7. 7
    A batsman who plays sweep shots.
  8. 8
    A fielding position along the boundary; a fielder in this position.
  9. 9
    A tree that has fallen over a river with branches extending into the water.
  10. 10
    A carpet sweeper.
  11. 11
    A vacuum cleaner.
  12. 12
    A group of students tasked at cleaning the homeroom after class dismissal.
  13. 13
    The last person in the line of hikers that is responsible for ensuring no one gets separated from the group.
  14. 14
    A character designed or capable of knocking out multiple enemies in succession, usually due to a combination of high offense and high speed.
  15. 15
    A large-radius, or high/medium speed corner in a racing circuit, named as such because of the ability of someone to trace the corner profile via "sweeping" motion of the arm.

Etymology

From Middle English swepere, swepare, equivalent to sweep + -er. Cognate with Middle Low German swēpære, swēper (“broom for sweeping up debris”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: seweper,ssweeper,sweeepr,sweeperr,sweepper,sweepre,swepeer,sweper,swweeper,wseeper

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for sweeper

Misspelling Variants of "sweeper"

seweper7ssweeper8sweeepr7sweeperr8sweepper8sweepre7swepeer7sweper6
Misspelling Variants of "sweeper"

Frequency rank: #33,441 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sweeper"?
"sweeper" is spelled S-W-E-E-P-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈswipɚ/.
What does "sweeper" mean?
As a noun, "sweeper" means: One who sweeps.
What words are commonly confused with "sweeper"?
"sweeper" is commonly confused with "sweeps", "sweeten", "sweep". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sweeper"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sweeper" is /ˈswipɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sweeper"?
From Middle English swepere, swepare, equivalent to sweep + -er. Cognate with Middle Low German swēpære, swēper (“broom for sweeping up debris”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.