一扫而空 (yì sǎo ér kōng) — to sell out completely; to clear away entirely; to make a clean sweep

Definition

Idiom: something is swept clean in one stroke — completely removed, used up, or won over. Often carries a sense of decisive, total clearance (goods sold, opponents defeated, obstacles cleared).

idiom
to sell out completelyto clear away entirelyto make a clean sweep

Examples

  • 一扫而空。
    Shāng chǎng lǐ de tè jià shāng pǐn hěn kuài jiù bèi gù kè yì sǎo ér kōng le.
    The special-offer items in the mall were quickly snapped up by customers.
  • 一扫而空，。
    Zhè cì bǐ sài tā men duì yì sǎo ér kōng, bāo lǎn le suǒ yǒu jīn pái.
    Their team made a clean sweep in this competition, taking all the gold medals.
  • ，一扫而空，。
    Tái fēng guò hòu, jiē shàng de tān wèi bèi yì sǎo ér kōng, yí piàn láng jí.
    After the typhoon, the street stalls were swept away completely, leaving a mess.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 掃; 扫 is its simplified writing.

The form 掃 draws a hand with a broomstick, the thing used for sweeping.

Open 扫 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.