mop¹ Definition
mop (mäp)
noun
- a bundle of loose rags or yarns, a sponge, etc. fastened to the end of a stick, as for washing or wiping floors
- anything suggestive of this, as a thick head of hair
Etymology: Early ModE mappe, naut. term < ? Walloon mappe < L mappa, napkin: see map
transitive verb mopped, mop′·ping
to wash, rub, wipe, or remove with or as with a mop: often with up
mop¹ Related Forms
mop¹ Idioms
mop up
- Informal
- to bring to an end; finish
- to defeat completely
- Mil. to clear out or round up isolated or scattered remnants of beaten enemy forces from (a town, battle area, etc.)
- to finish a task
mop (up) the floor with
Slang to defeat decisively
mop² Definition
mop (mäp)
mop Synonyms
mop
n.
mop Synonyms
mop Usage Examples
Object
- bucket: He was lying ten feet from Bob Fassl's mop bucket.
- floor: I think more famous musicians could stand to mop more floors.
- head: It is a medium sized tree, with a nice mop head.
- top: There are also early images by Astrid Kirchherr, the girlfriend of Stuart Sutcliffe who helped to style the band's mop tops.
- blood: She simply walked up and down the floor silently, then picked up a cloth and mopped the blood from the floor.
- system: Attach micro floor pad to mopping system i.e. hand mop.
Adjective modifier
blond: A blond mop flopped over his eyes and clumped against his forehead when the sweat stuck.
Modifies a noun
head: Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 How can I reuse or recycle... old mop heads?
Modifying Another Word
- then: They clean the board and empty the rubbish bins, sweep the floor and then mop it.
- up: It mops up sweat, whilst maintaining a lack of symmetry.
- only: Apparently, it was only mopped up just in time for the opening night of ' Footloose - The Musical ' .
Followed by an intransitive particle
up: Let's just hope I'm not having to mop up too many tears!
Followed by a transitive particle
up: Serve with crusty bread to mop up the lovely sauce.
Particle object:
- spillage: I believe I now hold the record for fastest mopped up spillage.
- spill: Changing the diaper with a towel under the baby can help you to mop up spills quickly.
- tail: With the heart ripped out of their innings, the stage was set for Joe Dutton and Matt Whitthread to mop up the tail.
- radical: To fight free radicals our bodies have a complex system of large antioxidant enzymes to mop up these free radicals.
- mess: In short it is an insult to all tax payers including fellow officers who are left to mop up the mess.
- blood: Instead he had taken her into his kitchen and mopped up the blood and tears.
Noun used with modifier
Mrs: As soon as the Mrs Mop urge strikes we'll be giving it a try on one of the bikes from the RealClassic Shed.

