mopping-up
Americanadjective
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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.
Etymology
Origin of mopping-up
1905–10; mop up + -ing 1, used attributively
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The U.S. remains in the middle of an extended mopping-up effort on a mission that the public and much of the policymaking community lost interest in some time ago.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026
The Ukrainian military said last week that its forces had raised the national flag in the strategic settlement, but were still carrying out mopping-up operations.
From Reuters • Aug. 28, 2023
“It’s a total mopping-up operation. The Justice Ministry isn’t even trying to respect decorum,” Andrei Bastunets, the head of the organization, said.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 21, 2021
He added that the criminal justice system was often used as a "mopping-up service" for people who had significant mental health difficulties but could not access mental health support.
From BBC • Jul. 16, 2019
From the classroom, someone turned the radio on: gallant Biafran soldiers were completing a mopping-up operation in a sector Ugwu did not hear clearly.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
