BROOM Definition & Meaning

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broom

[ broom, broom ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an implement for sweeping, consisting of a brush of straw or stiff strands of synthetic material bound tightly to the end of a long handle.
any shrubby plant belonging to the genus Genista or the genus Cytisus, of the legume family, especially C. scoparius, common in Western Europe on uncultivated ground and having long, slender branches bearing yellow flowers.
Building Trades. the crushed and spread part at the head of a wooden pile after driving.

verb (used with object)

to sweep:
Broom the porch.
to splinter or fray mechanically.
to crush and spread the top of (a piling, tent peg, etc.) by pounding or driving with a hammer or the like.
to brush (freshly poured concrete) with a broom to give a nonskid surface, as to walks or driveways.

verb (used without object)

(of a piling, tent peg, etc.) to be crushed and spread at the top from being driven.

broom

/ bruːm; brʊm /

noun

an implement for sweeping consisting of a long handle to which is attached either a brush of straw, bristles, or twigs, bound together, or a solid head into which are set tufts of bristles or fibres
any of various yellow-flowered Eurasian leguminous shrubs of the genera Cytisus , Genista , and Spartium , esp C. scoparius
any of various similar Eurasian plants of the related genera Genista and Spartium
new broom
a newly appointed official, etc, eager to make changes

verb

tr to sweep with a broom

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Pronunciation Note

Broom and room occur with the vowel [oo] of fool or [oo] of book. The first is the more common. The pronunciation with the [oo] of book is found in New England, eastern Virginia, and South Carolina and Georgia alongside the [oo] pronunciation. Farther west the [oo] pronunciation is more common, though the pronunciation with the vowel of book occurs everywhere with no marked regional or social pattern. Both pronunciations occur in British standard and folk speech. The pronunciation with [oo] predominates in the eastern counties, [oo] everywhere else. London lies on the boundary between the two types, and it is thus not surprising that [oo] is found in the United States in the coastal areas that had long and close contact with England.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of broom¹

before 1000; Middle English brome, Old English ��ō��; cognate with Dutch braam bramble, German Bram broom

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of broom¹

Old English ��ō�� ; related to Old High German ��峾�� , Middle Dutch bremme

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Idioms and Phrases

see new broom sweeps clean .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And so it begins again - a new manager hunt leading to a new broom in the dressing room.

From

For Wales, perhaps it was to be expected that a new broom would sweep clean.

From

"Afterwards, the community really rallied around, there were people turning up with brooms, brushes to help with the clean-up," he said of the unrest in August.

From

The 12 in-house gardeners focused on exterior cleanup, using chainsaws and rakes to clear fallen trees and large branches before turning to push brooms to clean smaller debris.

From

There is silence, except for the swish of his broom across the floor of the small museum he runs documenting the life of his community in Panama, the Guna.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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