Word.ws English Dictionary

sweeping something under the rug

sweeping something under the rug is the present participle of sweep something under the rug.

Meaning of sweep something under the rug

Verb

sweep something under the rug (third-person singular simple present sweeps something under the rug, present participle sweeping something under the rug, simple past and past participle swept something under the rug)

  1. (idiomatic) To conceal a problem (usually an embarrassing or illegal one) expediently, rather than remedy it thoroughly.
    • Near-synonyms: cover (sth.) up, draw a veil over (sth.)

Questions about sweeping something under the rug

What is sweeping something under the rug the present participle of?
Sweeping something under the rug is the present participle of sweep something under the rug.

Words near sweeping something under the rug in the dictionary

  1. sweeping aside
  2. sweeping away
  3. sweeping in
  4. sweeping out
  5. sweeping someone off their feet
  6. sweeping something under the rug
  7. sweeping the board
  8. sweeping the deck
  9. sweeping the floor with someone
  10. sweeping up
  11. sweepingly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sweeping something under the rug (page history and authors); sweep something under the rug (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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