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broom

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broom¹

  • /bɹuːm/ UK
  • /bɹʊm/ UK
  • /bɹʉwm/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /bɹɵm/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /bɹum/ US
  • /bɹʊm/ US
  • /bɹʉːm/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /bɹʊm/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /bɾuːm/ Wales
  • /bɹʊm/ Wales
  • /bɾʉm/ Scotland
  • /bɻʉm/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like brume · Rhymes with -ʊm, -uːm

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English brom, from Old English brōm (“brushwood”), from Proto-West Germanic *brām (“bramble”) (compare Saterland Frisian Brom, West Frisian brem, Dutch braam, German Low German Braam), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem-, from *bʰer- ‘edge’. Related to brim, brink.

Replaced English besom (from Old English besma (“broom, rod”)), which is now restricted in meaning to a particular kind of broom.

(shotgun): So called because it is (like the cleaning utensil) long and held similarly to a besom and “cleans” what is in front.

noun brooms

  1. countable A domestic utensil with fibers bound together at the end of a long handle, used for sweeping. Meronyms: broomstick (handle), bavin (head)
  2. countable An implement with which players sweep the ice to make a stone travel further and curl less; a sweeper.
  3. countable, uncountable Any of several yellow-flowered shrubs of the family Fabaceae, with long, stiff, thin branches and small or few leaves used for the domestic utensil. At the same time, the encroachment of vegetation proceeds apace, and broom and brambles have already made portions of the line impassable, even on foot.
  4. countable, uncountable Especially, of the tribe Genisteae, including genera Cytisus, Genista, and Spartium. […] and thy broom groves, Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves, Being lass-lorn […]
  5. countable, uncountable Of plants not closely related to those of tribe Genisteae.
  6. countable, rare, slang, uncountable A firearm; especially, a shotgun. So keep talking all that fly shit, and I’ma grab the tool And the lead will get stuck in your head like a catchy tune Soon as I look down on a target, bitch, your ass is doomed Trust exercise with Ahdi, arms out to catch a boom You see this sweeper I got, it ain’t your average broom This ring will w

    Similar: broomstick, boomstick, firearm, gat, gun, iron, piece

verb brooms · brooming · broomed

  1. intransitive, transitive To sweep with a broom. […] Sidi, I was busy in the exercise of my functions, occupied in brooming the front of the stables, when who should come but Hhamed Ould Denéï on horseback, at full gallop, as if he were going to break his neck. […]
  2. To improve the embedding of a membrane by using a broom or squeegee to smooth it out and ensure contact with the adhesive under the membrane.
  3. figuratively To get rid of someone, like firing an employee or breaking up with a girlfriend, to sweep another out of one's life. April 2002 Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn, speaking to his son Harry, in the film "Spider-Man" A word to the "not-so-wise" about your girlfriend. Do what you need to with her, then broom her fast.

broom²

  • /bɹuːm/ UK
  • /bɹʊm/ UK
  • /bɹʉwm/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /bɹɵm/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /bɹum/ US
  • /bɹʊm/ US
  • /bɹʉːm/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /bɹʊm/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /bɾuːm/ Wales
  • /bɹʊm/ Wales
  • /bɾʉm/ Scotland
  • /bɻʉm/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like brume · Rhymes with -ʊm, -uːm

verb brooms · brooming · broomed

  1. alternative Alternative form of bream (“to clean a ship's bottom”).

broom³

  • /bɹuːm/ UK
  • /bɹʊm/ UK
  • /bɹʉwm/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /bɹɵm/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /bɹum/ US
  • /bɹʊm/ US
  • /bɹʉːm/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /bɹʊm/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /bɾuːm/ Wales
  • /bɹʊm/ Wales
  • /bɾʉm/ Scotland
  • /bɻʉm/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like brume · Rhymes with -ʊm, -uːm

interjection

  1. alternative Alternative form of brrm (“sound of a car engine”) (often used reduplicatively) I'm in me mum's car, broom broom

Broom⁴

proper noun

  1. A village in Southill parish, Central Bedfordshire district, Bedfordshire (OS grid ref TL1743).
  2. A hamlet in Long Marton parish, Eden district, Cumbria (OS grid ref NY6623).
  3. A locality in Thorncombe parish, west Dorset, on the boundary with Devon and close to Somerset (OS grid ref ST3202).
  4. A southern suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire (OS grid ref SK4491).
  5. A village in Bidford-on-Avon parish, Stratford-on-Avon district, Warwickshire (OS grid ref SP0853).
  6. A suburb of Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NS5556).
  7. A hamlet in Kilgetty/Begelly community, Pembrokeshire, Wales (OS grid ref SN1108).
  8. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: sweep, heather, ling, calluna vulgaris, scots heather, broomstick, mop, dustpan, sweeper, spade, shovel, stool, slurry, muck, sludge, whisk

Translations

Every language

noun Fabaceae shrub

Españolretama, hiniesta, genista
Portuguêsgesta, giesta, giesteira
Françaisgenêt à balais, argalou
DeutschGinster
Italianoginestra
Ελληνικάαφάνα afána
Românădrob
Русскийраки́тник rakítnik, мете́льник metélʹnik, дрок drok
العربيةجَوْلَق jawlaq
עבריתרותם, רֹתֶם rótem

noun domestic utensil

Españolescoba, escobillón, escobón, balea
한국어비 bi, 빗자루 bitjaru
日本語箒 hōki, 帚 hōki
中文掃帚 /扫帚 sàozhou, 掃把 /扫把 sàobǎ, 帚 zhǒu
हिन्दीझाड़ू jhāṛū
Kiswahiliufagio
Portuguêsvassoura, vassoira
Françaisbalai
DeutschBesen, Baasa, Bäse
Italianoscopa, ramazza
Ελληνικάσκούπα skoúpa
Românămătură
Русскийметла́ metlá, ве́ник vénik, щётка ščótka
Tiếng Việtchổi
العربيةمِكْنَسَة miknasa, مِقْشَة miqša
עבריתמַטְאֲטֵא mat'até

noun sweeper in curling

Españolcepillo
中文冰壺刷子 /冰壶刷子 bīnghú shuāzi, 刷子 shuāzi
DeutschBesen
Italianoramazza
Русскийщётка ščótka

verb to sweep

中文掃 /扫 sǎo, 掃除 /扫除 sǎochú
हिन्दीझाड़ना jhāṛnā
Portuguêsvarrer
Françaisbalayer
Italianoscopare, ramazzare, spazzare
Ελληνικάσκουπίζω skoupízo, σαρώνω saróno
Русскийподмета́ть podmetátʹ, подмести́ podmestí, мести́ mestí

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Cite this
MLA

"broom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/broom. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

broom. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/broom

Chicago

"broom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/broom.

BibTeX
@misc{broom_2026,
  title = {broom},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/broom},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}