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
FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Roseville police have announced the arrest of 82 people and the recovery of $14,200 following a retail theft crackdown last week, part of a broader regional push targeting holiday-season shoplifters.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Alysia Burgio, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
Arab autocrats, Iran’s mullahs, and Putin cracked down viciously.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crackdown
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Noun
Continue reading … LOCKED DOWN – Trump slams door on five more countries in major immigration crackdown.
—FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Roseville police have announced the arrest of 82 people and the recovery of $14,200 following a retail theft crackdown last week, part of a broader regional push targeting holiday-season shoplifters.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Verb
Every year, the police department receives grant funding from the National Transportation Safety Organization to crack down during the holiday, specifically to target drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
—Alysia Burgio, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
Arab autocrats, Iran’s mullahs, and Putin cracked down viciously.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crackdown
Cite this Entry
“Crackdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crackdown. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
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