cracked down; cracking down; cracks down
: to take positive regulatory or disciplinary action
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
Doug George, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Kamoutsas has also championed school choice initiatives and crackdowns on diversity, equity and inclusion principles in schools.
—Austin Horn
june 4, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
After disappearing in 1993, Messina Denaro managed to elude authorities for the next 30 years as the Italian state cracked down on the Sicilian mob.
—CBS News, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for crackdown
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Noun
The 2025 festival, planned for late July at Oakwood Beach, was scrapped in May, with the cancellation attributed to concerns over artist travel and visas amid crackdowns by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago in the weeks leading up to Operation Midway Blitz.
—Doug George, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Kamoutsas has also championed school choice initiatives and crackdowns on diversity, equity and inclusion principles in schools.
—Austin Horn
june 4, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Verb
States are cracking down, and Minnesota recently became the first state to ban prediction markets, but the CFTC filed a lawsuit to block that law.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
After disappearing in 1993, Messina Denaro managed to elude authorities for the next 30 years as the Italian state cracked down on the Sicilian mob.
—CBS News, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for crackdown
Cite this Entry
“Crackdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crackdown. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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