What does "mop" mean?
An implement for washing floors or similar, made of a piece of cloth, or a collection of thrums, or coarse yarn, fastened to a handle.
Mop
/mɒp/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An implement for washing floors or similar, made of a piece of cloth, or a collection of thrums, or coarse yarn, fastened to a handle.
- Grammar: mop is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: absorb, baptize, bath, bathe.
- Useful contrasts: bald head, baldness, broom.
- Usage evidence: Please clean the floor with this mop.
How to use "mop"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mop" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mop" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "mop" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mop" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "mop" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "absorb" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mop", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An implement for washing floors or similar, made of a piece of cloth, or a collection of thrums, or coarse yarn, fastened to a handle. countable, uncountable
- 2 The young of any animal. British, dialectal, obsolete
- 3 GBU-57; Acronym of Massive Ordnance Penetrator. US
"The MOP — a 30,000-pound bomb with 6,000 pounds of explosives — was designed for “reaching and destroying our adversaries’ weapons of mass destruction located in well-protected facilities,” according to a fact sheet from the US Air Force."
- 4 Alternative letter-case form of MOP (“means of production”). Marxism, alt-of
- 5 cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 A wash with a mop; the act of mopping. countable, uncountable
"He gave the floor a quick mop to soak up the spilt juice."
- 7 A young girl; a moppet. British, dialectal, obsolete
- 8 Initialism of means of production. Marxism, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 9 Alternative letter-case form of MOP (“mode of production”). Marxism, alt-of
- 10 A dense head of hair. countable, humorous, uncountable
"He ran a comb through his mop and hurried out the door."
- 11 A made-up face; a grimace.
"What mops and mowes it makes! --"
- 12 Initialism of mode of production. Marxism, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 13 An annual fair where servants were historically hired. British, West-Midlands, countable, dialectal, uncountable
"I means to goo to th' mop, 'er sez, fur I waants a chahinge.[…]'T wuz to w:Muckley mop 'er went."
- 14 Initialism of method of payment. Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
"Item: TWICELAND Fantasy Park Photobook (Sealed) / Price: 800 pesos only / DOP: PAYO / MOD: SCO or GGX / MOP: BPI or Gcash"
- 15 A tassel worn in a buttonhole to indicate ones occupation in such a fair. British, countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Mop Fairs: Today's annual events are the modern version of the old hiring fairs, where people attended seeking employment or to change it. They are named after the practice of hopefully skilled employees carrying tassels, known as mops, in their buttonholes indicating their occupation. Those who had no trade carried a mop head. At the end of the following week, they could change employers or employees, at what was called the Runaway Mop."
- 16 Initialism of muriate of potash. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, obsolete
- 17 A firearm particularly if it has a large magazine (compare broom, but still can be related to MP) Multicultural-London-English, countable, slang, uncountable
"Mainstream in this ting but I'm fully on opps Got shot with a mop but that boy never dropped"
- 18 Fellatio. slang, uncountable
"Had his thot give me mop in the back of my Bimmer"
- 19 A squeezable high-flow paint marker with an extra-wide felt or foam tip. countable, uncountable
- 20 A row of ropes dragged along the seabed for catching starfish. countable, uncountable
- 21 A drunkard. countable, slang, uncountable
"Left his pa's farm and is now working at the city water works. Some say he's got to drink 'cause he works with blue vitriol and that kind of stuff. He was a drunken mop always."
Verb
- 1 To rub, scrub, clean or wipe with a mop, or as if with a mop. transitive
"to mop (or scrub) a floor"
- 2 To make a wry expression with the mouth. intransitive
"Flibbertigibbet,[is scared of]moping and mowing, who since possesses chambermaids and waiting-women"
- 3 make a sad face and thrust out one's lower lip wordnet
- 4 To shoplift. US, slang
"By “mopping” (stealing) the clothes and accessories necessary to effect their look, or by buying breasts, reconstructed noses, lifted chins, and female genitals, the children turn traditional ideas of labor around: […]"
- 5 to wash or wipe with or as if with a mop wordnet
Example
"Please clean the floor with this mop."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mop"?
Common synonyms include: absorb, baptize, bath, bathe, blots, broom.
How do you use "mop" in a sentence?
Please clean the floor with this mop.
How do you pronounce "mop"?
Pronounced /mɒp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English mappe (also as mappel), perhaps borrowed from Walloon mappe (“napkin”), from Latin mappa (“napkin, cloth”). Believed to be from a Semitic source, variously claimed as Phoenician or Punic (the latter by Quintilian). Compare Modern Hebrew מַפָּה (mapá, “a map; a cloth”) (shortened from מַנְפָּה (manpah, “fluttering banner, streaming cloth”)). Doublet of map, nape, and nappe.
Etymology 2
From Middle English moppe (“fool, simpleton; derisive gesture; child, baby, doll”), of obscure origin, but compare Proto-West Germanic *mauwu (“pout, protruding lip”). Compare Low German mop, mops (“simpleton; pugnosed dog”), Dutch mop, mops (“pugnosed dog”), and the verb mope.