as in ending
the last part of a process or action
the general announced that the remaining fighting would be only a mop-up to a war that was all but over
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Recent Examples of mop-up
Going into Saturday night, the Wildcats had allowed only one kill shot all season, the fewest in college basketball, and that came in mop-up duty in a blowout win over Norfolk State in November.
—
Cj Moore, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2026
But Blackburn battled multiple injuries with the Mets, and his stats with the Yankees were inflated by a seven-run, mop-up debut for the club.
—Gary Phillips, Hartford Courant, 12 Mar. 2026
At that point, Battalion Chief Martin Mullen, who was running the mop-up operation, had walked three laps around the perimeter of the fire.
—Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Prior to being held out of Saturday night’s victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, Jovic had fallen out of the rotation, playing only three minutes of mop-up duty in Friday night’s road victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Drivers were encouraged to seek alternate routes as the mop-up and investigation continued on Sunday.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
McKee, 25, has taken limited snaps in mop-up duty in three blowout victories this season.
—Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Throughout the season during mop-up work and in practice situations, Milton has felt confident in his abilities.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Dec. 2025
Kuminga was the only active Warriors player not to see any action, even in mop-up duty, when Buddy Hield entered for his first playing time since Thursday in Phoenix.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
Cj Moore, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2026
But Blackburn battled multiple injuries with the Mets, and his stats with the Yankees were inflated by a seven-run, mop-up debut for the club.
—Gary Phillips, Hartford Courant, 12 Mar. 2026
At that point, Battalion Chief Martin Mullen, who was running the mop-up operation, had walked three laps around the perimeter of the fire.
—Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
Prior to being held out of Saturday night’s victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, Jovic had fallen out of the rotation, playing only three minutes of mop-up duty in Friday night’s road victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Drivers were encouraged to seek alternate routes as the mop-up and investigation continued on Sunday.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
McKee, 25, has taken limited snaps in mop-up duty in three blowout victories this season.
—Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Throughout the season during mop-up work and in practice situations, Milton has felt confident in his abilities.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Dec. 2025
Kuminga was the only active Warriors player not to see any action, even in mop-up duty, when Buddy Hield entered for his first playing time since Thursday in Phoenix.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mop-up
Noun
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However the film lands a poignant and lyrical ending that sends the audience out on a note of hope.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
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Beginning early Saturday morning and ending, hopefully, before midnight, Anderson was walking a 50-mile circuit of his own design through the entire city of San Francisco.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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All five students had their ankle bracelets removed at the conclusion of their hearings Friday and have been released from house arrest, according to two attorneys representing the teenagers.—
Liz Crawford,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Summoned to the scene of a homicide one night, Kay discovers a body with links to a decades-old killer, a finding that calls into question her conclusions about a long-ago series of crimes.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Further on the tech front, OpenAI is focusing employee and investor attention on its enterprise business as the artificial intelligence startup gears up to go public, potentially by the end of the year, CNBC has learned.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
18 Mar. 2026
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The department released more than 100,000 pages of material by that deadline but did not release the majority of its files until the end of January.—
MAEGAN VAZQUEZ THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Hamlin used his Las Vegas victory last October to lock into NASCAR's championship-deciding finale three weeks later.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Mar. 2026
-
DeGrom, who pitched in a back field game Sunday morning, was scheduled to wrap up spring training in the Arizona finale (or in a minor league game).—
Evan Grant,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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After disastrous finish to the regular season, the Horns are roaring into the NCAA field of 64.—
Cedric Golden,
Austin American Statesman,
18 Mar. 2026
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It was set up to be a great finish.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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People wait to enter the Boulder Theater on the closing night of the 2013 Boulder International Film Festival.—
Libby Smith,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
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The demolition marks the closing of a chapter and a new beginning, Rodríguez said.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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As Joachim Trier stood on the Dolby Theatre stage, clutching Norway’s first Academy Award, the moment marked the culmination of a decades-long national project — built patiently, deliberately and with oil money turned into cultural capital.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Mar. 2026
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The game was the culmination of a weekend’s worth of events.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mop-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mop-up. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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