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 Mets’ two wins came in Game 2, a bullpen game for the Dodgers, and Game 5, when mop-up man Brent Honeywell Jr. threw four innings after Jack Flaherty was tattooed for eight runs. —Jerry Beach, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

After gaining just 25 yards on its first three drives under two-year starter Ashton Daniels, Stanford coach Troy Taylor switched to freshman Elijah Brown, whose only previous experience was in mop-up duty against Cal Poly. —Harold Gutmann, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024

Verb

Rocket Science is mopping up international sales on the project, which Studiocanal will release in multiple territories. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Nov. 2024

Firefighters were planning to continue reinforcing control lines and containment and mopping up the fire’s interior, CalFire added. —Caelyn Pender, The Mercury News, 3 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1900, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1811, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1