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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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.
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
-
Back in 2019, Starbucks dismantled its two-tier rewards structure in an effort to broaden engagement among newer customers, but the company now argues that the simplified system failed to differentiate between casual users and its most frequent, and valuable, visitors.—
Mark Faithfull,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
This is how the architecture of accountability is dismantled.—
Binaifer Nowrojee,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mothball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mothball. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
