broom
n 1: a cleaning implement for sweeping; bundle of straws or
twigs attached to a long handle
2: any of various shrubs of the genera Cytisus or Genista or
Spartium having long slender branches and racemes of yellow
flowers
3: common Old World heath represented by many varieties; low
evergreen grown widely in the northern hemisphere [syn:
heather, ling, Scots heather, broom, Calluna
vulgaris]
v 1: sweep with a broom or as if with a broom; "Sweep the crumbs
off the table"; "Sweep under the bed" [syn: sweep,
broom]
2: finish with a broom
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Broom \Broom\ (br[=oo]m), n. [OE. brom, brome, AS. br[=o]m; akin
to LG. bram, D. brem, OHG. br[=a]mo broom, thorn?bush, G.
brombeere blackberry. Cf. Bramble, n.]
1. (Bot.) A plant having twigs suitable for making brooms to
sweep with when bound together; esp., the Cytisus
scoparius of Western Europe, which is a low shrub with
long, straight, green, angular branches, minute leaves,
and large yellow flowers.
[1913 Webster]
No gypsy cowered o'er fires of furze and broom.
--Wordsworth.
[1913 Webster]
2. An implement for sweeping floors, etc., commonly made of
the panicles or tops of broom corn, bound together or
attached to a long wooden handle; -- so called because
originally made of the twigs of the broom.
[1913 Webster]
Butcher's broom, a plant (Ruscus aculeatus) of the Smilax
family, used by butchers for brooms to sweep their blocks;
-- called also knee holly. See Cladophyll.
Dyer's broom, a species of mignonette (Reseda luteola),
used for dyeing yellow; dyer's weed; dyer's rocket.
Spanish broom. See under Spanish.
[1913 Webster]
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