sweep (something) under the carpet
idiom
chiefly British
: to hide (something that is illegal, embarrassing, or wrong)
He tried to sweep his past mistakes under the carpet.
Examples of sweep (something) under the carpet in a Sentence
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So this is not something to sweep under the carpet.
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Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 2 Aug. 2022
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Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 2 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Sweep (something) under the carpet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweep%20%28something%29%20under%20the%20carpet. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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