Antonyms for stop up

Grammar : Verb

Spell : stop

Phonetic Transcription : stɒp

Definition of stop up

Origin : Old English -stoppian (in forstoppian "to stop up, stifle"), a general West Germanic word (cf. West Frisian stopje, Middle Low German stoppen, Old High German stopfon, German stopfen "to plug, stop up," Old Low Frankish (be)stuppon "to stop (the ears)"), but held by many sources to be a borrowing from Vulgar Latin *stuppare "to stop or stuff with tow or oakum" (cf. Italian stoppare, French étouper "to stop with tow"), from Latin stuppa "coarse part of flax, tow." Plugs made of tow were used from ancient times in Rhine valley. Barnhart, at least, proposes the whole Germanic group rather might be native, from a base *stoppon.
Sense of "bring or come to a halt" (mid-15c.) is from notion of preventing a flow by blocking a hole, and the word's development in this sense is unique to English, though it since has been widely adopted in other languages; perhaps influenced by Latin stupere "be stunned, be stupefied." Stop-and-go (adj.) is from 1926, originally a reference to traffic signals.

As in occlude : verb block, prevent
As in seal : verb make airtight
As in block : verb obstruct
As in clog : verb block, hinder
As in close : verb obstruct, seal
As in dam : verb hold back; block

Example sentences :

Then he tried to stop up the entrance to their den with his coat, so that he could catch them.
Extract from : « Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad » by Various

And what can it be, that can so fill thy mind as to stop up all its entrances?
Extract from : « The Substance of a Dream » by F. W. Bain

I'm to stop up half an hour later than Peter, Rona; do you hear that?
Extract from : « For the Sake of the School » by Angela Brazil

We shall cease then to stop up the street, and you can go on your way with your bier.
Extract from : « Romola » by George Eliot

Then we had to stop up the holes with anything we had, and patch the paper as best we could.
Extract from : « Land of the Burnt Thigh » by Edith Eudora Kohl

As it would have been difficult to stop up the hole, we allowed it to remain.
Extract from : « In the Wilds of Florida » by W.H.G. Kingston

"I thought he meant to stop up at Oxford and take pupils," said Mary.
Extract from : « The Bertrams » by Anthony Trollope

To render the blockade effectual, it was requisite to stop up the port.
Extract from : « Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3 of 8 » by Various

The tinker too with mettle, Said he could mend her kettle,And stop up every leak.
Extract from : « The Book of Humorous Verse » by Various

It was not difficult then to stop up the orifice with a little fat.
Extract from : « Three Boys in the Wild North Land » by Egerton Ryerson Young

Synonyms for stop up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019