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
Reuters, CNN, 18 Sep. 2024
Prominent cultural, media and sporting figures also spoke up, while a number of female celebrities defiantly posted images or appeared in public without their headscarves
Iran’s draconian government has reacted to the uprising with a series of harsh crackdowns.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2024
Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2024
The legislation comes in response to the two assassination attempts against Trump during this cycle, which prompted condemnations from both sides of the aisle to crack down on political violence.
—Cami Mondeaux, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackdown 
Noun
The rulings underscore the mixed record of outgoing EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in defending her crackdown on Big Tech in court.
—Reuters, CNN, 18 Sep. 2024
Prominent cultural, media and sporting figures also spoke up, while a number of female celebrities defiantly posted images or appeared in public without their headscarves
Iran’s draconian government has reacted to the uprising with a series of harsh crackdowns.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2024
Verb
The enforcement action is one of several undertaken in the last decade by federal and state regulators who have attempted to crack down on excessive pollution from emissions-cheating devices.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2024
The legislation comes in response to the two assassination attempts against Trump during this cycle, which prompted condemnations from both sides of the aisle to crack down on political violence.
—Cami Mondeaux, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackdown
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crackdown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Crackdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crackdown. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
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