Balayer

Balayer is a French verb that primarily means to sweep with a broom, cleaning a surface by removing dust, dirt, or debris. It is used for simple physical cleaning actions such as balayer le sol or balayer les feuilles, and it can also describe sweeping a larger area or clearing items from a space.

Beyond the literal sense, balayer is frequently used figuratively. It can mean to cover or clear away something in a broad sense, as in balayer un problème (to address or deal with a problem) or balayer du regard (to sweep one’s gaze across something). The phrase balayer quelqu’un d’un revers de la main conveys brushing someone aside, while balayer l’espace or balayer une zone can indicate a comprehensive sweep of an area.

Grammatical notes: balayer is a regular -er verb. In the present tense the forms are: je balaie, tu balaies, il balaie, nous balayons, vous balayez, ils balaient. The past participle is balayé, used with auxiliary verbs to form compound tenses (par exemple, j’ai balayé). Other common forms include the imperfect balayais, present participle balayant, and the future balayerai.

Related terms include balai (the broom), balayage (the act or result of sweeping), and various idioms such as balayer du regard. The verb is standard in French and appears in everyday cleaning contexts as well as in metaphorical expressions across informal and formal registers.