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
Jim Gomez The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
Slusser's parents, Paul and Kim Slusser, provided a joint statement to Fox News Digital addressing the crackdown on the university.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026
In New Mexico, for instance, lawmakers are weighing a bill to crack down on drones used by criminal organizations.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crackdown
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Noun
The vice president is the daughter of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw bloody anti-drug crackdowns while in office from 2016 to 2022.
—Jim Gomez The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
Slusser's parents, Paul and Kim Slusser, provided a joint statement to Fox News Digital addressing the crackdown on the university.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
The editorial also suggested cracking down on false medical claims.
—Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026
In New Mexico, for instance, lawmakers are weighing a bill to crack down on drones used by criminal organizations.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 11 Feb. 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 12 Feb. 2026.
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