stop up
Fill a hole or gap, block an opening or passage. For example, We need to stop up the chinks in the walls, or The sink is stopped up; it won't drain. This idiom was at first put simply as stop, the adverb up being added only in the early 1700s.
Words Nearby stop up
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use stop up in a sentence
It kept the men of the Essex busy enough to pump her out and stop up the holes, so that she should not go to the bottom.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes | VariousIt has been thought a dangerous thing in any State to stop up the vent of griefs.
The Loyalists of America and Their Times, Vol. 1 of 2 | Egerton RyersonDuring the day these insects stop up their holes with sand, and only come out in the night.
In the Wilds of Florida | W.H.G. KingstonAnd what can it be, that can so fill thy mind as to stop up all its entrances?
The Substance of a Dream | F. W. Bain"Gentlemen, the hounds can't get out, if you will stop up the gate," said Sir William.
Can You Forgive Her? | Anthony Trollope
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