spread vs sweep

spread

noun
  • An expanse of land. 

  • The difference between the prices of two similar items. 

  • An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points. 

  • The difference between the wholesale and retail prices. 

  • The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity. 

  • The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity. 

  • Excessive width of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper. 

  • Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc. 

  • An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page. 

  • A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread). 

  • Any form of food designed to be spread, such as butters or jams. 

  • The difference between bidding and asking price. 

  • The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone. 

  • An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies. 

  • The act of spreading. 

  • Something that has been spread. 

  • A set of multiple torpedoes launched on side-by-side, slowly-diverging paths toward one or more enemy ships. 

  • Food improvised by inmates from various ingredients to relieve the tedium of prison food. 

  • A numerical difference. 

  • The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity. 

  • A large meal, especially one laid out on a table. 

  • A layout, pattern or design of cards arranged for a reading. 

  • A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch. 

verb
  • To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area. 

  • To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space. 

  • To cover (something) with a thin layer of some substance, as of butter. 

  • To take up a larger area or space; to expand, be extended. 

  • To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions. 

  • To smear, to distribute in a thin layer. 

  • To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated. 

  • To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present. 

  • To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions. 

  • To open one’s legs, especially for sexual favours. 

sweep

noun
  • An expanse or a swath, a strip of land. 

  • Any of several sea chubs in the family Kyphosidae (subfamily Scorpidinae). 

  • The compass of any turning body or of any motion. 

  • Violent and general destruction. 

  • The degree to which an aircraft's wings are angled backwards (or, occasionally, forwards) from their attachments to the fuselage. 

  • A flow of water parallel to shore caused by wave action at an ocean beach or at a point or headland. 

  • A long pole, or piece of timber, moved on a horizontal fulcrum fixed to a tall post and used to raise and lower a bucket in a well for drawing water. 

  • A lottery, usually on the results of a sporting event, where players win if their randomly chosen team wins. 

  • A person who stands at the stern of a surf boat, steering with a steering oar and commanding the crew. 

  • A single action of sweeping. 

  • The person who steers a dragon boat. 

  • A methodical search, typically for bugs (electronic listening devices). 

  • Direction or departure of a curve, a road, an arch, etc. away from a rectilinear line. 

  • A rowing style in which each rower rows with oar on either the port or starboard side. 

  • A batsman's shot, played from a kneeling position with a swinging horizontal bat. 

  • In the game casino, the act of capturing all face-up cards from the table. 

  • A movable template for making moulds, in loam moulding. 

  • Any of the blades of a windmill. 

  • A chimney sweep. 

  • The sweepings of workshops where precious metals are worked, containing filings, etc. 

  • A large oar used in small vessels, partly to propel them and partly to steer them. 

  • A throw or takedown that primarily uses the legs to attack an opponent's legs. 

verb
  • To clear (a body of water or part thereof) of mines. 

  • To defeat (a team) in a series without drawing or losing any of the games in that series. 

  • To carry with a long, swinging, or dragging motion; hence, to carry in a stately or proud fashion. 

  • To move something in a long sweeping motion, as a broom. 

  • To row with one oar to either the port or starboard side. 

  • To strike with a long stroke. 

  • To pass over, or traverse, with the eye or with an instrument of observation. 

  • To move through a (horizontal) arc or similar long stroke. 

  • To travel quickly. 

  • To win (a series) without drawing or losing any of the games in that series. 

  • To clean (a surface) by means of a stroking motion of a broom or brush. 

  • To remove something abruptly and thoroughly. 

  • To brush the ice in front of a moving stone, causing it to travel farther and to curl less. 

  • To search (a place) methodically. 

  • To draw or drag something over. 

  • To play a sweep shot. 

  • To vacuum a carpet or rug. 

  • To brush against or over; to rub lightly along. 

How often have the words spread and sweep occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )