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
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
Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Jackson has played 45 NFL head coaches in full games (excluding some mop-up duty as a rookie).
—Mike Defabo, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 22 Jan. 2025
They were never intended to be frontline fighters, concentrating more on evacuation and mopping up fires that were already mostly out.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mop-up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Springer went 4-for-5 and 1-for-1 from three in his nine minutes of mop-up duty, scoring 10 points and making another case for additional playing time.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 24 Jan. 2025
Jackson has played 45 NFL head coaches in full games (excluding some mop-up duty as a rookie).
—Mike Defabo, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Verb
Firefighters will remain on scene through the night conducting mop up operations to ensure no hot spots remain.
—Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 22 Jan. 2025
They were never intended to be frontline fighters, concentrating more on evacuation and mopping up fires that were already mostly out.
—Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mop-up
Cite this Entry
“Mop-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mop-up. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share