clampdown
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of clampdown
First recorded in 1935–40; noun use of verb phrase clamp down
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.
But worries about a looming trade clampdown in the U.S. helped prices start rolling higher, HSBC’s Steel said.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 17, 2026
"It's kind of taken the government by surprise, and so that's why they started this clampdown," he told AFP.
From Barron's • Jan. 11, 2026
But he backed away when the regime launched its deadly clampdown, continuing to work at a state TV building where he filmed Ramadan soap operas and a morning talk show.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025
But the arrival in the UK of many young pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong, following Beijing's clampdown, has heightened the concerns.
From BBC • Oct. 29, 2025
The library raid was part of that clampdown, and to the NSA it seemed justified.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
