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

mopped up their rivals

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

I'm almost done with the project. I just need a little time to mop up.

Synonyms of mop-up

Noun

• ending
• conclusion
• end
• finale
• finish
• closing
• culmination

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

More than a year after the Palisades fire, the public has yet to hear directly from firefighters about their mop-up of the Lachman fire. —Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026

Williams has served as an understudy to both Ward and Beck the last two seasons, but the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Williams has only thrown 19 passes this season in mop-up duty. —Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026

Verb

Crews tried to mop up the court at the United Center, where condensation formed on the hardwood surface that sits on top of the ice rink the Blackhawks had just played on the night before. —Tara Molina, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026

Early January is a great time for comedy, since stand-ups often take advantage of the light music-touring schedule to mop up audiences. —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 31 Dec. 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