Selective sweep refers to a process in which a specific variant of a gene becomes more common in a population due to natural selection. The term is often used in the field of genetics and evolution. Synonyms for the term selective sweep include genetic hitchhiking, selective sweep scan, and evolutionary adaptation. These terms are used to describe the same process of the evolution of advantageous traits in a population. Selective sweep scan is a technique used to identify regions of the genome that have experienced selective sweeps in a specific population. Understanding selective sweeps is important in studies that aim to understand the genetic basis of complex traits and diseases.