Meanings
- idiomaticlocationSo as to be hidden from plain view (and thus easily ignored or overlooked).
to sweep (something) under the carpet
5 more examples
But in the 1970s the process went into reverse, as more and more 'bad' data went under the carpet.
1989, Walter Joyce, Hillel Ticktin, Stephen White, Gorbachev and Gorbachevism, page 58It seems as if it is happening and it is being washed under the carpet.
1999 June 30, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), page 1119The Bill is going to apply to a much wider group of people and I think it will sweep an awful lot of things under the carpet.
2006, Joint Committee on Human Rights, The UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT): Nineteenth Report of Session 2005-06: Volume II: Oral And Written Evidence, page 27Worldwide nuclear proliferation committed by a single nation to create an Islamic nuclear bomb has been swept under the carpet by the United States.
2009, B. Vithal Shetty, World as Seen Under the Lens of a Scientist, page 233Conflict is brushed under the carpet.
2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, page 139 - Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see under, carpet.
When the carpet layers came in and removed the carpet she said there were millions of black eggs and tiny worms crawling under the carpet.
2005, Devi S. Nambudripad, Freedom from Environmental Sensitivities, page 35Synonyms: under the rug
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see under, carpet.
Cite this entry
under the carpet. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/under%20the%20carpet
“under the carpet.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/under%20the%20carpet. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “under the carpet,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/under%20the%20carpet.
Source: under the carpet on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.