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
Synonyms
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
Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Crews are continuing mop-up efforts on the fire’s south flank, authorities said.
—Nathan Fenno, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2024
Hannah Rice, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024
After mopping up in an embarrassing season-opening loss to Miami, the true freshman has thrown for 586 yards and four touchdowns.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mop-up 
Noun
Pedro Avila and Nick Sandlin are somewhat unfairly cast as mop-up men.
—Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Crews are continuing mop-up efforts on the fire’s south flank, authorities said.
—Nathan Fenno, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2024
Verb
It’s designed for hardwood floors and tile to mop up any spills and vacuum away debris.
—Hannah Rice, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024
After mopping up in an embarrassing season-opening loss to Miami, the true freshman has thrown for 586 yards and four touchdowns.
—Tom Layberger, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mop-up
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mop-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mop-up
Cite this Entry
“Mop-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mop-up. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share