sweep up phrasal verb (
see also sweep)
1. to clean the dust, dirt etc from the floor or ground using a brush with a long handle:
The janitor was just sweeping up as I left the building.sweep something ↔ up Jan was sweeping up the bits of paper and broken glass.2. sweep somebody ↔ up to pick someone up in one quick movement:
Harriet swept the child up in her arms and hugged her. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲