broom

[broom, broo m] /brum, brʊm/
noun
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
Building Trades. the crushed and spread part at the head of a wooden pile after driving.
verb (used with object)
4.
to sweep:
Broom the porch.
5.
to splinter or fray mechanically.
6.
to crush and spread the top of (a piling, tent peg, etc.) by pounding or driving with a hammer or the like.
7.
to brush (freshly poured concrete) with a broom to give a nonskid surface, as to walks or driveways.
verb (used without object)
8.
(of a piling, tent peg, etc.) to be crushed and spread at the top from being driven.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English brome, Old English brōm; cognate with Dutch braam bramble, German Bram broom
Pronunciation note
Broom and room occur with the vowel [oo] /u/ (Show IPA) of fool or [oo] /ʊ/ of book. The first is the more common. The pronunciation with the [oo] /ʊ/ of book is found in New England, eastern Virginia, and South Carolina and Georgia alongside the [oo] /u/ pronunciation. Farther west the [oo] /u/ 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] /ʊ/ predominates in the eastern counties, [oo] /u/ everywhere else. London lies on the boundary between the two types, and it is thus not surprising that [oo] /ʊ/ is found in the United States in the coastal areas that had long and close contact with England.
Examples from the web for broom
  • broom and water and mop clean from the floors human dust and spit, and machine grime of the day.
  • Use a broom, not water, to clean driveways and sidewalks.
  • Use a broom to clean your patio, walk and driveway instead of a hose.
  • To simplify the final step, use a dust mop with a clean cover or tie a clean cotton rag over a broom.
  • We pray nowadays with broom in hand, and the prayer tells.
  • Stop hosing the sidewalks to clean them and use a broom instead.
  • Forget about grimy garages that need space heaters and a broom to vanquish the spiders.
  • It turned out to be the ancillary office to the converted broom closet office.
  • Don't begrudge a mouse the right cage because your office is in a broom closet.
  • Thus a placeholder from the inside would be feared, to some extent, and it might be that upper administration wants a new broom.
British Dictionary definitions for broom

broom

/bruːm; brʊm/
noun
1.
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.
any of various yellow-flowered Eurasian leguminous shrubs of the genera Cytisus, Genista, and Spartium, esp C. scoparius
3.
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
verb
5.
(transitive) to sweep with a broom
Word Origin
Old English brōm; related to Old High German brāmo, Middle Dutch bremme
Word Origin and History for broom
n.

Old English brom "broom, brushwood," the common flowering shrub whose twigs were tied together to make a tool for sweeping, from Proto-Germanic *bræmaz "thorny bush" (cf. Dutch braam, German Brombeere "blackberry"), from PIE root *bh(e)rem- "to project, a point."

Traditionally, both the flowers and sweeping with broom twigs were considered unlucky in May (Suffolk, Sussex, Wiltshire, etc.). The witch's flying broomstick originally was one among many such objects (pitchfork, trough, bowl), but the broomstick became fixed as the popular tool of supernatural flight via engravings from a famous Lancashire witch trial of 1612.

Slang definitions & phrases for broom

broom

verb

To run or walk away, esp to escape by running (1800s+)

Related Terms

have a broom up one's ass


Idioms and Phrases with broom

broom

see: new broom sweeps clean