Swept

/swept/ verb

Definition

Past tense of sweep; pushed or moved something with a brush or by force; moved smoothly and quickly across an area.

Etymology

From Old English 'swapan,' from Proto-Germanic roots. The past tense 'swept' is irregular, preserved in English since medieval times.

Kelly Says

Like most common English verbs, 'sweep-swept-swept' is irregular because we use it constantly—irregular verbs survive language change because of frequency, which is why the most common actions (go, do, be, sweep) never regularize to 'go-goed' or 'sweep-sweeped.'

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