A broomstick is the long wooden or plastic handle of a broom. While the bristles at the bottom do the actual sweeping, the broomstick is what you hold onto, giving you the leverage and reach to push dirt and dust across the floor.

Broomsticks have found their way into stories and games far beyond sweeping. In folklore and fairy tales, witches supposedly flew through the night sky on broomsticks, and this image became so popular that broomsticks appear in countless Halloween decorations. Kids sometimes play games riding broomsticks like horses, and in The Wizard of Oz books and movies, the Wicked Witch of the West travels by broomstick.

The word can also describe something very thin or straight, like when someone says a person is “thin as a broomstick.” And if you've ever tried to balance a broomstick on your palm, you know it requires steady concentration, since the long pole wants to tip in every direction at once.