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stop up

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stop something up (with something)

to plug or clog something with something. Gary stopped the sink up with bacon grease. He stopped up the sink with bacon grease. Try not to stop the sink up.

See also: stop, up

stop up

[for something] to become clogged. The sink stopped up again!

See also: stop, up

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.

See also: stop, up

stop up

v.

1. To obstruct some passageway: The fallen leaves stopped up the drainpipe. This nagging cold has stopped my sinuses up.

2. To cause something to become obstructed: The reason the engine malfunctioned was that some mud had stopped up its vents. My sloppy roommate stopped the sink up with leftover food.

3. To become obstructed: Call the plumber; the sink stopped up again.

4. To become constipated: I had stopped up, so I took some laxatives.

See also: stop, up