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
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2025
Fear for life of journalist jailed amid Georgian government crackdown
The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world's Ismaili Muslims, dies at 88
In:
Dogs
Wolf
Animal Shelters
Pet Adoption
Kansas
Emily Mae Czachor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2025
Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2025
Florida was the first state to crack down on phones in school, passing a 2023 law that requires all public schools to ban cellphone use during class time and block access to social media on district Wi-Fi.
—Andrew Demillo, The Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for crackdown 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Trump ordered the tariffs amid his border crackdown.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2025
Fear for life of journalist jailed amid Georgian government crackdown
The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world's Ismaili Muslims, dies at 88
In:
Dogs
Wolf
Animal Shelters
Pet Adoption
Kansas
Emily Mae Czachor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2025
Verb
Several federal agencies have begun removing resources for underrepresented Americans from their webpages following President Donald Trump’s executive order cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
—Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2025
Florida was the first state to crack down on phones in school, passing a 2023 law that requires all public schools to ban cellphone use during class time and block access to social media on district Wi-Fi.
—Andrew Demillo, The Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2025
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 9 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share