A system and method for SAT-sweeping is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a method includes determining gate classes by inputting simulation patterns to gates in an integrated circuit design, selecting a candidate gate based on an inverse topological ordering of the gates, and then selecting a driver gate belonging to the same gate class as the candidate gate. A SAT-solver is called based on the candidate gate and the driver gate to confirm equivalence. The candidate gate and the driver gate are then merged in the integrated circuit design.