mopping-up
[mop-ing-uhp]
- serving to complete or put the finishing touches to a phase of a particular action.
- serving to complete a military campaign by killing or capturing any remaining enemy troops: a mopping-up operation.
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Origin of mopping-up
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mopping-up
Historical Examples
These were handled by the mopping-up troops, who threw hand-grenades.
Our Army at the FrontHeywood Broun
Most of the black platoons, he observed, had participated mainly in mopping-up operations or combat against a disorganized enemy.
Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.
Very good work was also done by the mopping-up platoon of D Company, under Sergt.
The Sherwood Foresters in the Great War 1914 - 1919Captain W. C. C. Weetman
The fifth wave is a mopping-up party to clear the enemy's dugouts.
Military Instructors ManualJames P. Cole and Oliver Schoonmaker