stopping up
Sealing an opening
Stopping up is plugging or blocking an opening or passage.
You stop up a drain, a hole, or a leak.
Ears can be stopped up from congestion or wax: My ears are all stopped up from this cold.
The phrase emphasizes complete blockage rather than partial obstruction.
- stopperingClosing with a plug
- pluggingFilling or blocking
- filling inTemporary replacement duty
- cloggingObstructing a passage
- corkingSlang for first-rate
damming · obstruction · blocking off · sealing · caulking · barricading · stanching · bunging · stuffing · patching · blocking · impeding · shutting out · occluding · restricting · stalling · holding back · stemming
stopping upclearing out
Emptying completely
unclogging · unblocking · opening up · clearing · flushing out
stopping upemptying
Removing all contents
hollowing out · cleaning out · removing · extracting · draining
stop, stopping, stopped, stops, stopper, stoppage, unstoppable