cracked down; cracking down; cracks down
: to take positive regulatory or disciplinary action
Synonyms
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
Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
The crackdown on Palestinian-solidarity activists has exposed the limits of the right’s hypocritical crusade for the expansion of speech rights on campus.
—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
Similar steps are being taken at colleges and universities across the country in the midst of large pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have spread across campuses in recent weeks, along with police crackdowns on many.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2024
But federal officials believe the main catalyst is an aggressive crackdown on U.S.-bound migrants by Mexican officials, who have ramped up efforts to stop migrants from boarding trains and buses that would take them closer to the American border.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 7 May 2024
Think back to 2020 after George Floyd was murdered and Trump promised a military crackdown on civil unrest.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday defended the police crackdown on campus protests there, which have become the epicenter of demonstrations seen around the country.
—Kristina Abovyan, ABC News, 5 May 2024
Police crackdowns, meanwhile, have triggered sharp criticism as authorities arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators and dismantle protests camps.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 3 May 2024
Related Articles Besides being nonsensical and cruel, zoning crackdowns like these can be unconstitutional.
—Daryl James, Orange County Register, 1 May 2024
Ernesto Londoño Meridith Kohut, New York Times, 12 May 2024
On May 1 a group of Republican lawmakers on the U.S. House Oversight Committee visited campus, urging D.C. to crack down on the protests.
—TIME, 9 May 2024
Recently, YouTube started cracking down on apps that use its API and block ads.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 7 May 2024
Hawaii isn’t the only destination looking to crack down on short-term vacation rentals.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 6 May 2024
In the past, the strategy called for police to crack down on minor offenses as a way to disrupt and deter more serious offenses.
—Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2024
Canfora is all too familiar with what can happen when the National Guard cracks down on campus demonstrations.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 4 May 2024
Domestically, the United States is also cracking down on coal.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024
President Joe Biden will speak about student protests over the war in Gaza on Thursday, according to a White House official, breaking days of silence as police crack down on campus encampments.
—Chris Megerian, Fortune, 2 May 2024
Noun
In the ensuing police crackdown, more than 2,500 have been arrested or detained, according to a New York Times analysis.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
The crackdown on Palestinian-solidarity activists has exposed the limits of the right’s hypocritical crusade for the expansion of speech rights on campus.
—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
Similar steps are being taken at colleges and universities across the country in the midst of large pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have spread across campuses in recent weeks, along with police crackdowns on many.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2024
But federal officials believe the main catalyst is an aggressive crackdown on U.S.-bound migrants by Mexican officials, who have ramped up efforts to stop migrants from boarding trains and buses that would take them closer to the American border.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 7 May 2024
Think back to 2020 after George Floyd was murdered and Trump promised a military crackdown on civil unrest.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday defended the police crackdown on campus protests there, which have become the epicenter of demonstrations seen around the country.
—Kristina Abovyan, ABC News, 5 May 2024
Police crackdowns, meanwhile, have triggered sharp criticism as authorities arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators and dismantle protests camps.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 3 May 2024
Related Articles Besides being nonsensical and cruel, zoning crackdowns like these can be unconstitutional.
—Daryl James, Orange County Register, 1 May 2024
Verb
For now, law enforcement officials have shown little interest in cracking down on these groups, most of which are subject to little state or federal regulation.
—Ernesto Londoño Meridith Kohut, New York Times, 12 May 2024
On May 1 a group of Republican lawmakers on the U.S. House Oversight Committee visited campus, urging D.C. to crack down on the protests.
—TIME, 9 May 2024
Recently, YouTube started cracking down on apps that use its API and block ads.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 7 May 2024
Hawaii isn’t the only destination looking to crack down on short-term vacation rentals.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 6 May 2024
In the past, the strategy called for police to crack down on minor offenses as a way to disrupt and deter more serious offenses.
—Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2024
Canfora is all too familiar with what can happen when the National Guard cracks down on campus demonstrations.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 4 May 2024
Domestically, the United States is also cracking down on coal.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024
President Joe Biden will speak about student protests over the war in Gaza on Thursday, according to a White House official, breaking days of silence as police crack down on campus encampments.
—Chris Megerian, Fortune, 2 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crackdown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crackdown
Cite this Entry
“Crackdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crackdown. Accessed 16 May. 2024.
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