crackdown

1 of 2

noun

crack·​down ˈkrak-ˌdau̇n 

: an act or instance of cracking down

crack down

2 of 2

verb

cracked down; cracking down; cracks down

intransitive verb

: to take positive regulatory or disciplinary action

Synonyms

Verb

• clamp down (on)
• crush
• put down
• quash
• quell
• repress
• silence
• slap down
• snuff (out)
• squash
• squelch
• subdue
• suppress

Examples of crackdown in a Sentence

Noun

Companies that pollute are the target of a new crackdown.

Verb

a repressive government that cracked down on political demonstrations

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On China, for example, Trump displayed a recurring willingness to give ground on other issues—the crackdown in Hong Kong, the repression in Xinjiang, the arrest of a senior executive of the Chinese tech company Huawei—in return for a better bilateral trade deal. —Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024

Citizens organized mass protests across the country and were met with a brutal crackdown. —Tirana Hassan, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024

Verb

In the aftermath of that change, medical exemptions surged, with a cottage industry popping up of doctors specializing in granting exemptions, causing the legislature to crack down on those practices with SB 276. —Andrew Keatts, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024

Earlier this year, Costco started cracking down on non-members that used someone else’s card, in addition to raising its membership fees for the first time in seven years. —Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 18 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1935, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1939, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

crack down

verb

ˈkrak-ˈdau̇n

: to take strong action especially to control or put down

crack down on crime

crackdown

-ˌdau̇n

noun