mop

play

noun \ ˈmäp \

Definition of mop

1 :an implement made of absorbent material fastened to a handle and used especially for cleaning floors

2 :something that resembles a mop; especially :a thick mass of hair

See mop defined for English-language learners

See mop defined for kids

Recent Examples of mop from the Web

Jennifer Lawrence invents an interesting mop and then sells it on TV.

— elizabeth logan, Glamour, "The 'Ta-Ta Towel' Is Here to Banish Boob Sweat for Good," 7 Aug. 2017
Sidgwick knelt and allowed drops of mop water to drip near the lines and used his fingers to rub away excess paint from individual blades.

— howard fendrich, The Seattle Times, "Every morning, they mow, paint, mop Wimbledon’s grass courts," 13 July 2017
An inning later, the Orioles’ mop-up reliever—the Yankees led 12-3 at this point—pitched Judge cautiously, keeping the ball on the far edge of the plate, but Judge reached out and lashed another homer to right.

— robert o'connell, The Atlantic, "Baseball’s Eyes Are on Aaron Judge," 10 July 2017
Gru is initially jealous of Dru, who has the same beaky nose and Slavic-adjacent accent, but sports a Fabio-like mop of hair in lieu of a bald pate.

— justin chang, latimes.com, "'Despicable Me 3' is so bad it's almost unendurable," 29 June 2017
Lightly spray the racks with the mop, particularly the areas that are looking a little dry.

— louisa chu, chicagotribune.com, "5 essential elements of barbecue from master griller Jamie Purviance," 26 June 2017
The shower’s temperature controls were in an adjacent mop closet.

— julie k. brown, miamiherald, "As she mulls run for governor, Fernández Rundle rebuked by own party over Rainey case," 22 June 2017
Appears to be human caused, mop up underway, burned apx 1 acre. — Boise Fire Dept.

— nicole blanchard, idahostatesman, "Firefighters mopping up small human-caused brush fire in southeast Boise," 20 June 2017
Luckily, there are many inspired and beautifully executed bits: Broadway veteran Jennifer Cody slowly slipping on sardines into an acrobatic split; McNicholl pratfalling around a mop bucket.

— christopher arnott, courant.com, "CT Rep's Uneven 'Noises Off' Is Exceptional," 19 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mop.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of mop

Middle English mappe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

mop

verb

Definition of mop

mopped; mopping

transitive verb

1 :to use a mop on; specifically :to clean or clear away by mopping

mop the floors

—often used with up

mop up the spillage

2 :to wipe as if with a mop

mopped his brow with a handkerchief

intransitive verb

:to clean a surface (such as a floor) with a mop

—

mopper

noun

See mop defined for English-language learners

Examples of mop in a Sentence

He mopped the sweat from his brow.

Recent Examples of mop from the Web

Eyster planned to use them as evidence that Sweatt was too busy mopping the floors at the arts center day and night to be a drug trafficker.

— emily yoffe, The Atlantic, "Innocence Is Irrelevant," 5 Aug. 2017
After all the beer was mopped up, the company that owned the brewery did just fine.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "This 1814 Beer Flood Killed Eight People," 4 Aug. 2017
A job for even the smallest child: Dry mop a dormitory, clean the washroom bowls.

— kristina goetz, The Courier-Journal, "Orphans come back to ‘The Home’ that took them in when no one else could," 20 July 2017
The reason is that some cancer cells remain even after the strongest conditioning, and the graft's attack on the host can mop up the stragglers.

— jon cohen, Science | AAAS, "A stem cell transplant helped beat back a young doctor’s cancer. Now, it’s assaulting his body," 12 July 2017
As fire crews mopped up in the aftermath, patrons at popular restaurants along 13th Street continued to dine al fresco.

— robert moran, Philly.com, "Firefighters tackle blaze at 12-story Walnut Square building in Center City," 5 July 2017
And as in that film, Affleck’s character spends the rest of the movie moping around and lashing out.

— christian lorentzen, New Republic, "The spirit of wounded masculinity haunts America in 'A Ghost Story.'," 5 July 2017
Lunches at the resort's poolside restaurant Ria begin with plump local olives and tender, herb-marinated carrots, plus bowlfuls of fragrant olive oil and tangy, spiced tomato spread waiting to be mopped up with pillowy, homemade bread.

— lindsay lambert day, Vogue, "Why Algarve, Portugal Should Be On Your Must-Visit List," 1 July 2017
The birds, mopped with a tomato/vinegar base sauce, roasted above flaming white oak firewood.

— ardie a. davis, kansascity, "The legend of the barbecued ‘Alaskan hummingbird’: It tastes a lot like chicken," 29 June 2017

First Known Use of mop

1709

MOP Defined for English Language Learners

mop

play

noun

Definition of mop for English Language Learners

: a tool for cleaning floors that has a bundle of cloth or yarn or a sponge attached to a long handle
: a large amount of tangled or untidy hair on a person's head