as in dismantled
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 mothballed
The two Karuizawa casks (#6195 and #888) in question were distilled in 1999, a year before the distillery was mothballed, and each is expected to yield about 420 bottles.
—
Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2026
Some 1,000 construction workers were laid off as the Gateway Development Commission mothballed the project.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
The Devil’s Place whiskey list also includes complete collections of special expressions and bottles from distilleries long mothballed.
—Don Tse, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The company began construction twice on the development, but now has mothballed that project.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
Turkey conducted a single test firing near Sinop in 2020, then quietly mothballed the system.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
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
Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2026
Some 1,000 construction workers were laid off as the Gateway Development Commission mothballed the project.
—Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
The Devil’s Place whiskey list also includes complete collections of special expressions and bottles from distilleries long mothballed.
—Don Tse, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The company began construction twice on the development, but now has mothballed that project.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
Turkey conducted a single test firing near Sinop in 2020, then quietly mothballed the system.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothballed
dismantled
Verb
-
Milan built a permanent Olympic Village that will become student housing, while Cortina relied on temporary accommodations that will be dismantled after the Games.—
Robert Carroll,
New York Daily News,
15 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
“Mothballed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mothballed. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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