mop-up

[ mop-uhp ]

/ ˈmɒpˌʌp /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mop-up ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act, process, or an instance of mopping up; completion of an operation or action.

Origin of mop-up

First recorded in 1895–1900; noun use of verb phrase mop up

Words nearby mop-up

MOPP, mopper-up, moppet, mopping-up, M.Opt., mop-up, mop up the floor with, mopy, moquette, Moqui, MOR

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for mop-up

Those were mop-up operations, clearing the streets of the last of the priest-king forces; he was not needed there.
Warlord of Kor|Terry Gene Carr
A dozen times they had almost stumbled headlong into roving German mop-up patrols.
Dave Dawson at Dunkirk|Robert Sydney Bowen
"Congratulations on the mop-up, which I understand was one hundred point oh oh oh percent," the officer said.
Man of Many Minds|E. Everett Evans
Golly, I want to be a Thorgunner and get in on the mop-up when it comes!
Be It Ever Thus|Robert Moore Williams

And a mop-up squad patrolled outward from the reclaimed camp, picked up two living Throgs, both wandering witlessly.
Storm Over Warlock|Andre Norton

British Dictionary definitions for mop-up

mop up

verb (tr, adverb)

to clean with a mop

informal to complete (a task, etc)

military to clear (remaining enemy forces) after a battle, as by killing, taking prisoner, etc

noun mop-up

the act or an instance of mopping up

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with mop-up