as in to quell
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
the need to clamp down on petty crime in the city
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clamp down (on)
Verb
-
Such assurances are unlikely to quell the community’s decades-long experience with polluted runoff, however, and small farmers say that runoff could also present a food safety problem and threaten to set back years of organic farming practices.—
Thomas Heaton,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026 -
Speakers sought to quell those concerns.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Ukraine's air force, meanwhile, said its forces faced 6,462 Russian drones and 138 missiles of various types across the course of the month, of which 5,833 drones and 102 missiles -- around 90% of drones and just under 74% of missiles -- were intercepted or suppressed.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Declining immigration is constraining labor supply, higher productivity is suppressing labor demand, business activity captured by our Texas Business Outlook Surveys recently moderated, and geopolitical uncertainty is elevated.—
Matthew Ablon,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Betts subdued the momentum with a block on Booker’s layup attempt with 20 seconds left, and Rice then made two free throws, sending Close’s crew into the title game.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
4 Apr. 2026
-
There, the pioneers—practical, inventive, restless, exuberant white men—clashed with Indigenous peoples, subduing them and a wilderness filled with wild animals and abundant natural resources.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Synthia Larson, one of two challengers in Tuesday’s race to sit on the council, beat incumbent Yvonne Salinas to represent Ward 4.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Dessert in hand, sit on a dock, dip your feet in the water, and watch the lake’s resident swans.—
Tribune Content Agency,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Clamp down (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clamp%20down%20%28on%29. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
