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
Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 16 Jan. 2026
Iranian security forces launched a brutal crackdown to end the widespread anti-government protests, which sources inside the country say may have resulted in the deaths of some 12,000 people, and potentially many more.
—Tucker Reals, CBS News, 15 Jan. 2026
Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 22 Jan. 2026
The president’s recent openness to cracking down on high home prices — an issue long popular with Democrats — suggests that there may be a political opening for Congress and the White House to get something done.
—Fred P. Hochberg, Boston Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crackdown
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Noun
Here's how market watchers are navigating it Energy markets have been rocked by volatility in recent days, as investors weigh a violent crackdown on civil unrest in oil-rich Iran — and the response from Washington.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 16 Jan. 2026
Iranian security forces launched a brutal crackdown to end the widespread anti-government protests, which sources inside the country say may have resulted in the deaths of some 12,000 people, and potentially many more.
—Tucker Reals, CBS News, 15 Jan. 2026
Verb
Such pieces came at a time when – in the years after the 2008 Beijing Olympics – officials carefully projected a new era of Chinese development and aggressively cracked down on any dissent.
—Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 22 Jan. 2026
The president’s recent openness to cracking down on high home prices — an issue long popular with Democrats — suggests that there may be a political opening for Congress and the White House to get something done.
—Fred P. Hochberg, Boston Herald, 21 Jan. 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 22 Jan. 2026.
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