stop up

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Related Words

• arrest
• bar
• blockade
• clog
• close
• close off
• cut off
• deter
• halt
• hinder
• hold up
• impede
• intercept
• prevent
• stall
• stop
• thwart