broom

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Related to broom: groom

broom

(bro͞om, bro͝om)

1. An implement used for sweeping, typically consisting of a bunch of stiff synthetic fibers or broomcorn stalks, or formerly twigs or straw, bound together and attached to a handle.

a. Any of various European and North African shrubs of the genus Cytisus in the pea family, especially C. scoparius, having mostly compound leaves with three leaflets and showy, usually bright yellow flowers.

b. Any of several similar or related shrubs, especially in the genera Genista and Spartium.

tr.v. broomed, broom·ing, brooms

To sweep with a broom.

[Middle English brom, from Old English brōm, broom plant (Cytisus scoparius and similar plants); akin to Dutch braam, blackberry, bramble, from Germanic *brēmaz, prickly shrub.]

broom′y adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

broom

(bruːm; brʊm)

1. (Tools) 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

2. (Plants) any of various yellow-flowered Eurasian leguminous shrubs of the genera Cytisus, Genista, and Spartium, esp C. scoparius

3. (Plants) any of various similar Eurasian plants of the related genera Genista and Spartium

4. new broom a newly appointed official, etc, eager to make changes

(tr) to sweep with a broom

[Old English brōm; related to Old High German brāmo, Middle Dutch bremme]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

broom

(brum, brʊm)
n.

1. an implement for sweeping, consisting of a brush of straw or some other stiff material on a long handle.

2. any of several flowering shrubs or small trees of the genera Cytisus and Genista, of the legume family, esp. C. scoparius, with yellow flowers borne on long branches.

v.t.

3. to sweep.

4. to splinter or fray mechanically.

[before 1000; Middle English brome, Old English brōm]

broom

- Was first called a besom, but evolved because many of them were made of twigs from the wild broom shrub.

broom

Past participle: broomed
Gerund: brooming

Imperative
broom
broom

Present
I broom
you broom
he/she/it brooms
we broom
you broom
they broom

Preterite
I broomed
you broomed
he/she/it broomed
we broomed
you broomed
they broomed

Present Continuous
I am brooming
you are brooming
he/she/it is brooming
we are brooming
you are brooming
they are brooming

Present Perfect
I have broomed
you have broomed
he/she/it has broomed
we have broomed
you have broomed
they have broomed

Past Continuous
I was brooming
you were brooming
he/she/it was brooming
we were brooming
you were brooming
they were brooming

Past Perfect
I had broomed
you had broomed
he/she/it had broomed
we had broomed
you had broomed
they had broomed

Future
I will broom
you will broom
he/she/it will broom
we will broom
you will broom
they will broom

Future Perfect
I will have broomed
you will have broomed
he/she/it will have broomed
we will have broomed
you will have broomed
they will have broomed

Future Continuous
I will be brooming
you will be brooming
he/she/it will be brooming
we will be brooming
you will be brooming
they will be brooming

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been brooming
you have been brooming
he/she/it has been brooming
we have been brooming
you have been brooming
they have been brooming

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been brooming
you will have been brooming
he/she/it will have been brooming
we will have been brooming
you will have been brooming
they will have been brooming

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been brooming
you had been brooming
he/she/it had been brooming
we had been brooming
you had been brooming
they had been brooming

Conditional
I would broom
you would broom
he/she/it would broom
we would broom
you would broom
they would broom

Past Conditional
I would have broomed
you would have broomed
he/she/it would have broomed
we would have broomed
you would have broomed
they would have broomed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	broom - a cleaning implement for sweeping; bundle of straws or twigs attached to a long handle besom - a broom made of twigs tied together on a long handle broom handle, broomstick - the handle of a broom cleaning device, cleaning equipment, cleaning implement - any of a large class of implements used for cleaning push broom - a wide broom that is pushed ahead of the sweeper whisk broom, whisk - a small short-handled broom used to brush clothes
	2.	broom - any of various shrubs of the genera Cytisus or Genista or Spartium having long slender branches and racemes of yellow flowers Papilionoideae, subfamily Papilionoideae - alternative name used in some classification systems for the family Papilionaceae weeping tree broom - small shrubby tree of New Zealand having weeping branches and racemes of white to violet flowers followed by woolly indehiscent two-seeded pods Cytisus albus, Cytisus multiflorus, white broom, white Spanish broom - low European broom having trifoliate leaves and yellowish-white flowers common broom, Cytisus scoparius, green broom, Scotch broom - deciduous erect spreading broom native to western Europe; widely cultivated for its rich yellow flowers broom tree, Genista anglica, needle furze, petty whin - prickly yellow-flowered shrub of the moors of New England and Europe Genista hispanica, Spanish gorse, Spanish broom - erect shrub of southwestern Europe having racemes of golden yellow flowers dyer's greenweed, dyer's-broom, dyeweed, Genista tinctoria, greenweed, woadwaxen, woodwaxen, whin - small Eurasian shrub having clusters of yellow flowers that yield a dye; common as a weed in Britain and the United States; sometimes grown as an ornamental Spanish broom, Spartium junceum, weaver's broom - tall thornless shrub having pale yellow flowers and flexible rushlike twigs used in basketry; of southwestern Europe and Mediterranean; naturalized in California bush, shrub - a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
	3.	broom - common Old World heath represented by many varieties; low evergreen grown widely in the northern hemisphere Calluna vulgaris, heather, Scots heather, ling heath - a low evergreen shrub of the family Ericaceae; has small bell-shaped pink or purple flowers Calluna, genus Calluna - one species
Verb	1.	broom - sweep with a broom or as if with a broom; "Sweep the crumbs off the table"; "Sweep under the bed" sweep wipe, pass over - rub with a circular motion; "wipe the blackboard"; "He passed his hands over the soft cloth" sweep - clean by sweeping; "Please sweep the floor"
	2.	broom - finish with a broom finish - provide with a finish; "The carpenter finished the table beautifully"; "this shirt is not finished properly"

Translations

مِكْنَسَةمُكْنِسَهوزّال

ginesta

koštěsmetákjanovec

kostgyvel

Besen Ginster

σκούπα φρόκαλο ασπάλαθος σάρωθρο

balailo

escoba retama negra

luudpühkima

luutaluutiaharjalakaista

balai genêt balais

metla

rekettye

gullsópurkústur

scopa ginestra ramazza

ほうき

비

sausakrūmisšluota

irbuleneslota

bezem brem

feiekost gyvel kost sopelime

miotła szczotkajanowiec

vassoura

веник метла

prútnatec

metla

kvastsopkvast

ไม้กวาด

katırtırnağısaplı süpürgesüpürge

chổi

扫帚金雀花

broom

[bruːm, brʊm]

A. N

1. (= brush) → escoba f
new broom (fig) → escoba f nueva
a new broom sweeps clean → escoba nueva barre bien

2. (Bot) → retama f, hiniesta f

B. CPD broom closet (US) broom cupboard (Brit) N → armario m de los artículos de limpieza

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

broom

[ˈbrʊm] n (for sweeping) → balai m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

broom

→ Besen m; a new broom sweeps clean (Prov) → neue Besen kehren gut (Prov)

(Bot) → Ginster m

broom

broom cupboard

n → Besenschrank m

broomstick

n → Besenstiel m; a witch on her broom → eine Hexe auf ihrem Besen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

broom

[brʊm] n (brush) → scopa (Bot) → ginestra

broom

(bruːm) noun

1. a wild shrub of the pea family with (usually yellow) flowers. The hillside was covered in broom.

2. a long-handled sweeping brush.

broom

→ مِكْنَسَة koště kost Besen σκούπα escoba luuta balais metla scopa ほうき 비 bezem kost miotła vassoura веник sopkvast ไม้กวาด süpürge chổi 扫帚

References in classic literature ?

So the witch saw there was no help to be got from her old servants, and that the best thing she could do was to mount on her broom and set off in pursuit of the children.

View in context

The Pumpkinhead had brought a broom, which was the first thing he saw.

View in context

My landlord, whose hands were empty, fell to with his fist, and the good wife, uplifting her broom and aiming at the head of Jones, had probably put an immediate end to the fray, and to Jones likewise, had not the descent of this broom been prevented--not by the miraculous intervention of any heathen deity, but by a very natural though fortunate accident, viz., by the arrival of Partridge; who entered the house at that instant (for fear had caused him to run every step from the hill), and who, seeing the danger which threatened his master or companion (which you chuse to call him), prevented so sad a catastrophe, by catching hold of the landlady's arm, as it was brandished aloft in the air.

View in context

The officer spoke of the regiment as if he referred to a broom. Some part of the woods needed sweep- ing, perhaps, and he merely indicated a broom in a tone properly indifferent to its fate.

View in context

"What in the world are you going to do now, Jo." asked Meg one snowy afternoon, as her sister came tramping through the hall, in rubber boots, old sack, and hood, with a broom in one hand and a shovel in the other.

View in context

Knows a broom's a broom, and knows it's wicked to tell a lie.

View in context

AND very early every morning --before anybody is awake--Hunca Munca comes with her dust-pan and her broom to sweep the Dollies' house!

View in context

This man was as hard-tempered and hard-handed as Samson; he always spoke in a rough, impatient voice, and if I did not move in the stall the moment he wanted me, he would hit me above the hocks with his stable broom or the fork, whichever he might have in his hand.

View in context

But they soon got used to it; and they used to think it great fun to watch Jip, the dog, sweeping his tail over the floor with a rag tied onto it for a broom. After a little they got to do the work so well that the Doctor said that he had never had his house kept so tidy or so clean before.

View in context

These temporary aims are like the broom fixed in front of a locomotive to clear the snow from the rails in front: they clear men's moral responsibilities from their path.

View in context

The music had started up, and half a block away you could hear the dull "broom, broom" of a cello, with the squeaking of two fiddles which vied with each other in intricate and altitudinous gymnastics.

View in context

The nurse raised no further objection: and the next speaker was a ragged little boy, with bare feet, and a broom over his shoulder, who ran across the road, and pretended to sweep the perfectly dry road in front of us.