mop up
phrasal verbmop something up
- to remove the liquid from a surface
- Do you want some bread to mop up that sauce?
- to complete or end something by dealing with the final parts
- There are a few things that need mopping up before I can leave.
- to use up what is left of something
- Buying new equipment mopped up what was left of this year's budget.
- to get rid of the last few people who continue to oppose you, especially by capturing or killing them
- Troops combed the area to mop up any remaining resistance.
- to absorb (= take in) something and make it part of something larger
- A number of smaller companies were mopped up by the American multinational.