crackdown
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of crackdown
1930–35, noun use of verb phrase crack down
Explanation
When an authority uses strict or harsh measures to curb certain behavior, it's a crackdown. A crackdown can be seen as positive or negative, depending on what kind of activity is being limited. The violent crackdown of a repressive government on its citizens is anti-democratic, but your principal's crackdown on bullying is most likely good for everyone in your school. Crackdown, with its sense of "severe discipline," may have originated from the phrase crack the whip, although language experts aren't certain.
Vocabulary lists containing crackdown
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was one of hundreds of documents a Journal reporter found in a vast compound vacated in the crackdown.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
The Attorney General's office and courts announced the start of the trial, part of iron-fisted President Nayib Bukele's anti-gang crackdown.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
China and other countries, Cambodia’s government in recent months embarked on a nationwide crackdown it said would eradicate online-scam activity by the end of April.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
The crackdown on protesters began in June of 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security launched its wave of major immigration sweeps in Southern California.
From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026
Most New Yorkers loved this crackdown on its own merit.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
