I. mop 1 /mɒp $ mɑːp/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: Perhaps from Latin mappa 'cloth (for cleaning)' ]
1 . a thing used for washing floors, consisting of a long stick with threads of thick string or a piece of ↑ sponge fastened to one end:
a mop and bucket
2 . a thing used for cleaning dishes, consisting of a short stick with a piece of ↑ sponge fastened to one end
3 . [usually singular] informal a large amount of thick, often untidy hair
mop of
He ran a hand through his mop of fair hair.
II. mop 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle mopped , present participle mopping )
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to wash a floor with a wet mop:
She carried on mopping the floor.
2 . [transitive] to dry your face by rubbing it with a cloth or something soft SYN wipe :
It was so hot he had to keep stopping to mop his face.
The doctor mopped his brow (=removed sweat from his forehead) with a handkerchief.
3 . [transitive] to remove liquid from a surface by rubbing it with a cloth or something soft
mop something from something
She gently mopped the blood from the wound.
He mopped the sweat from his face.
mop something away
She mopped the tears away with a lacy handkerchief.
4 . mop the floor with somebody American English to completely defeat someone, for example in a game or argument SYN wipe the floor with somebody British English :
We mopped the floor with the team from Pomona High.
mop something/somebody ↔ up phrasal verb
1 . to remove liquid with a mop, a cloth, or something soft, especially in order to clean a surface SYN wipe up :
Mop the sauce up with your bread.
He mopped up the spilt milk.
2 . to remove or deal with something which you think is undesirable or dangerous, so that it is no longer a problem:
The usual solution is to send in infantry to mop up any remaining opposition.
The rebellion has been crushed, but mopping-up operations may take several weeks.
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THESAURUS
▪ wash to clean something with soap and water:
Our car needs washing.
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Make sure that you wash your hands.
▪ do the washing British English , do the laundry American English to wash clothes that need to be washed:
Did you do the laundry this morning?
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I do the washing on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
▪ do the washing up British English ( also wash up British English ), do the dishes American English to wash all the cups, plates, knives etc that you have used during a meal:
If you do the cooking tonight, I’ll do the washing up.
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Who’s going to do the dishes?
▪ cleanse formal to make something completely clean, especially using a special substance:
Carefully cleanse the cut to get rid of any grit or dirt.
▪ rinse to wash something with water in order to remove soap or dirt:
I’ll just rinse the lettuce under the tap.
▪ scrub to make something very clean, using a stiff brush and water, or soap and water:
Lou was on her knees, scrubbing the kitchen floor.
▪ mop to wash a floor with a wet ↑ mop (=special stick with thick threads on the end) :
A cleaner mopped the floor between the beds.