cracked down; cracking down; cracks down
: to take positive regulatory or disciplinary action
Synonyms
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
Waylon Cunningham, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
Li Tie, 47, who played for the English Premier League Everton alongside Wayne Rooney in the early 2000s, is the biggest name to fall foul of a sweeping crackdown on rampant graft in China’s professional soccer league.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024
Yet Kennedy has also made some common-sense health proposals that cut across party lines, such as cracking down on ultraprocessed foods and promoting preventive health care.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackdown 
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Noun
But Wall Street is wagering that Trump’s tough talk is a bluff ahead of a more limited crackdown that won’t uproot the restaurant industry’s immigrant-heavy workforce.
—Waylon Cunningham, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
Li Tie, 47, who played for the English Premier League Everton alongside Wayne Rooney in the early 2000s, is the biggest name to fall foul of a sweeping crackdown on rampant graft in China’s professional soccer league.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
But Yoon’s time in office was marred by criticisms of authoritarian governance, such as cracking down on the news media, in addition to graft and financial crime allegations against his wife.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024
Yet Kennedy has also made some common-sense health proposals that cut across party lines, such as cracking down on ultraprocessed foods and promoting preventive health care.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackdown
Dictionary Entries Near crackdown
Cite this Entry
“Crackdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crackdown. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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