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Synonyms

crack down

British  

verb

  1. to take severe measures (against); become stricter (with)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. severe or repressive measures

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
crack down Idioms  

  1. Act more forcefully to regulate, repress, or restrain. For example, The police cracked down on speeding. [1930s]

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.

The government is looking to crack down on service charges, but some feel the proposals do not go far enough.

From BBC

Meanwhile, civil society and human rights activists worry that an agreement could give the authorities more space to crack down at home, especially as restrictions have already tightened during the war.

From BBC

Therefore, it said, new legislation - passed by Germany in December to crack down on people smuggling to UK - did not apply in this case.

From BBC

A group of lawyers is backing new legislation in Sacramento aimed at cracking down on misconduct, including harsher penalties for illegally recruiting clients.

From Los Angeles Times

California has been cracking down on hospice fraud on its own.

From MarketWatch

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.