as in to dismantle
to stop using (something) while keeping it to be possibly used in the future
Many navy ships were mothballed after the war.
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Recent Examples of mothball
The bank mothballed plans for the plot of land and hired brokers to sell it in 2014, a process that drew interest from a handful of residential developers who considered the site a prime opportunity to build luxury apartments overlooking the river.
—
Jack Sidders, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025
Thus began a contentious, years-long saga — involving the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, legislators, lawyers, geologic experts, industry officials and local citizens — that delayed, defunded and ultimately mothballed the project in 2010.
—Bob Woods, CNBC, 9 Nov. 2025
The Lightfighter is as powerful, while much lighter than the 575-lb (260-kg) behemoths raced in the MotoE World Championship (the premier international series for electric bikes) – and the 489-lb (225-kg) e-Ducati that would have replaced them had the class not been mothballed from next year.
—New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
That project, announced in December, included plans to mothball 175 rooms in the newer wing that opened in 2000.
—Tom Daykin, jsonline.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mothball
Jack Sidders, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025
Thus began a contentious, years-long saga — involving the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, legislators, lawyers, geologic experts, industry officials and local citizens — that delayed, defunded and ultimately mothballed the project in 2010.
—Bob Woods, CNBC, 9 Nov. 2025
The Lightfighter is as powerful, while much lighter than the 575-lb (260-kg) behemoths raced in the MotoE World Championship (the premier international series for electric bikes) – and the 489-lb (225-kg) e-Ducati that would have replaced them had the class not been mothballed from next year.
—New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
That project, announced in December, included plans to mothball 175 rooms in the newer wing that opened in 2000.
—Tom Daykin, jsonline.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mothball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothball
dismantle
Verb
-
The same process happened with the government’s attempt to dismantle the Palestinian Authority in order to kill and bury the hope for Palestinian self-determination.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Makeshift trenches with food supplies and utensils belonging to the miners were also dismantled, with clothing items left behind after the miners fled the site in Randfontein, about 25 miles west of Johannesburg.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mothball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mothball. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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