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
Anna Nemtsova, Time, 23 May 2026
That policy began in the late 1970s in a post-Watergate crackdown on presidential abuses after Richard Nixon was found to have claimed dubious deductions — including a donation of his personal papers — that led to big underpayments.
—Fatima Hussein, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026
Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 22 May 2026
Third, governments should crack down on the commercial wildlife trade.
—Neil Vora, Time, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for crackdown
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Noun
During the domestic crackdown that started that year, the Kremlin shut popular news outlets, banned opposition groups, and imprisoned hundreds of talented young Russians.
—Anna Nemtsova, Time, 23 May 2026
That policy began in the late 1970s in a post-Watergate crackdown on presidential abuses after Richard Nixon was found to have claimed dubious deductions — including a donation of his personal papers — that led to big underpayments.
—Fatima Hussein, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026
Verb
The company has publicly cracked down on five offenders, including a video editor who worked for MrBeast.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 22 May 2026
Third, governments should crack down on the commercial wildlife trade.
—Neil Vora, Time, 22 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 24 May. 2026.
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