broom: Meaning and Definition of

broom

Pronunciation: (brm, broom), [key]
— n.
  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, esp. C. scoparius, common in Western Europe on uncultivated ground and having long, slender branches bearing yellow flowers.
  3. the crushed and spread part at the head of a wooden pile after driving.
—v.t.
  1. to sweep: Broom the porch.
  2. to splinter or fray mechanically.
  3. to crush and spread the top of (a piling, tent peg, etc.) by pounding or driving with a hammer or the like.
  4. to brush (freshly poured concrete) with a broom to give a nonskid surface, as to walks or driveways.
—v.i.
  1. (of a piling, tent peg, etc.) to be crushed and spread at the top from being driven.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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