mopped up; mopping up; mops up
1
British
: to consume eagerly
2
: to gather as if by absorbing
3
: to overcome decisively : trounce
4
: to clear (an area) of remaining pockets of resistance in the wake of a military offensive
: to complete a project, transaction, or task
Examples of mop-up in a Sentence
Noun
the general announced that the remaining fighting would be only a mop-up to a war that was all but over
Recent Examples on the Web
Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Jackson has played 45 NFL head coaches in full games (excluding some mop-up duty as a rookie).
—Mike Defabo, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
Wise and her then-fiancé shut off the water to the sink, mopped up the floor and cabinet and called a plumber to fix the leak.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacramento Bee, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mop-up
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Noun
Springer went 4-for-5 and 1-for-1 from three in his nine minutes of mop-up duty, scoring 10 points and making another case for additional playing time.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Jackson has played 45 NFL head coaches in full games (excluding some mop-up duty as a rookie).
—Mike Defabo, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Verb
They were never intended to be frontline fighters, concentrating more on evacuation and mopping up fires that were already mostly out.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
Wise and her then-fiancé shut off the water to the sink, mopped up the floor and cabinet and called a plumber to fix the leak.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacramento Bee, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mop-up
Cite this Entry
“Mop-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mop-up. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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