mop-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈmäp-ˌəp 

often attributive

: a concluding action or phase

mop up

2 of 2

verb

mopped up; mopping up; mops up

transitive verb

1

British : to consume eagerly

2

: to gather as if by absorbing

also : garner

mopped up all the awards

3

: to overcome decisively : trounce

4

: to clear (an area) of remaining pockets of resistance in the wake of a military offensive

intransitive verb

: to complete a project, transaction, or task

Synonyms

Noun

• capper
• close
• closing
• conclusion
• consummation
• end
• endgame
• ending
• finale
• finis
• finish
• grand finale
• homestretch
• windup
• wrap-up

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

Noun

The Kings have used seven goalies in total as Cal Petersen (2022) and Pheonix Copley (2023) each did a mop-up job for one game in relief. —Eric Stephens, New York Times, 2 May 2025

Things got so bad in Baltimore during the first month that Sanchez was actually deployed as a mop-up relief pitcher. —Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

Verb

Crews are currently mopping up hotspots and mitigating snags around the fire perimeter. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025

After the beating, another correction sergeant, Donald Slawson, mopped up the blood in the infirmary, preventing investigators from finding any blood spatter to analyze, prosecutors allege. —Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1900, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1811, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for mop-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup