as in to dismantle
to stop using (something) while keeping it to be possibly used in the future
Many navy ships were mothballed after the war.
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Recent Examples of mothball
In recent months, Microsoft contracted with Constellation Energy to restart Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania, which was mothballed 5 years ago.
—
David Blackmon, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
And then there was the flying machine that brought Scholl up short: a British Airways supersonic Concorde, which went into commercial service in 1976 and was permanently mothballed in 2003.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 19 Jan. 2025
His secretary of state articulated 12 demands—among them, that Iran mothball its nuclear and missile programs, end support for proxy groups, and remove all militias from Iraq and Syria—that few Iran experts believed Tehran could meet absent regime change.
—Brett McGurk, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2020
The structure could be mothballed sometime next year until a plan for its reuse is determined.
—Jason Clayworth, Axios, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mothball
David Blackmon, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
And then there was the flying machine that brought Scholl up short: a British Airways supersonic Concorde, which went into commercial service in 1976 and was permanently mothballed in 2003.
—Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 19 Jan. 2025
His secretary of state articulated 12 demands—among them, that Iran mothball its nuclear and missile programs, end support for proxy groups, and remove all militias from Iraq and Syria—that few Iran experts believed Tehran could meet absent regime change.
—Brett McGurk, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2020
The structure could be mothballed sometime next year until a plan for its reuse is determined.
—Jason Clayworth, Axios, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mothball
Cite this Entry
“Mothball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mothball. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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