mopping-up

[ mop-ing-uhp ]

adjective

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.

Origin of mopping-up

1905–10; mop up + -ing¹, used attributively

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

There was some mopping up to do, particularly to convince waverers in the Jewish community.
How the Chuck Hagel Fight Changed the American Jewish Landscape in Washington | J. J. Goldberg | August 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
You go to the source, there is no point mopping up until you have fixed the actual leak.
Norway Puts Hate on Trial, With Anders Behring Breivik’s Ugly Beliefs | Asne Seierstad | April 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
President Obama could start mopping up this hot mess by causing some heads to roll in his Chicago campaign headquarters.
An Obama Campaign Photo That Looks Like a Young Republican Rally | Mansfield Frazier | April 10, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Typical Post-y puns decried how custodians were “mopping up” and “cleaning us out.”
The $140,000 Janitors | Azriel James Relph | November 24, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
The advertising department had been closed, and on the floor above, scrub women were busy mopping up.
Ghost Beyond the Gate | Mildred A. Wirt

Then he saw the helper busily mopping up the reeking mass of chemicals.
The Skylark of Space | Edward Elmer Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby
The world is small, as you say, but just at this moment infernally busy mopping up.
The Pagan Madonna | Harold MacGrath
"Then we'd better be shackin' erlong," said Mormon, mopping up gravy with half a biscuit.
Rimrock Trail | J. Allan Dunn
On arrival there, the "mopping up" party is found still at work, but it soon completes its grim task.
Three years in France with the Guns: | C. A. Rose

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