crackdown

[ krak-doun ]

/ ˈkrækˌdaʊn /

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noun

the severe or stern enforcement of regulations, laws, etc., as to root out abuses or correct a problem.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of crackdown

1930–35, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase crack down

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use crackdown in a sentence

Just as we cannot simply “crack down on guns,” we cannot just crack down on warrior cops and expect life to return to “normal.”
What’s Next, Police With Tanks?|James Poulos|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Major League Baseball actually does not penalize usage in the bigs, but does crack down on minor leaguers.
State Rep Pat Garofalo Says NBA Players Are Criminals|Robert Silverman|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Japanese law enforcement uses all the laws available to crack down on the yakuza.
Where Have Japan’s Yakuza Gone?|Jake Adelstein, Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky|March 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On Friday, key senators pressed the Obama administration to crack down on Russian human rights violators.
Congress Presses Obama On Russia Sanctions|Josh Rogin|January 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But despite a string of high-profile deaths linked to the drug, feds have found it a slippery target to crack down on.
When Synthetic Pot Kills|Abby Haglage|November 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
That crack down in the back lane at Edmonton, Blathers, said Mr. Duff, assisting his colleagues memory.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
You know—why should I crack down on drinking or smoking, for instance, when I do it myself?
Warlord of Kor|Terry Gene Carr
The reasons that the Soviet Union did not crack down on its former subservient satellite are both obscure and complex.
Area Handbook for Romania|Eugene K. Keefe, Donald W. Bernier, Lyle E. Brenneman, William Giloane, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole
The shock to the latter appeared to have had the effect of jarring it sufficiently to crack down great blocks all along its face.
Down the Columbia|Lewis R. Freeman
The eyes are still closed, but a crack down the center of each is visible by the 13th day.
North American Jumping Mice (Genus Zapus)|Philip H. Krutzsch

British Dictionary definitions for crackdown

crack down

verb (intr, adverb often foll by on)

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

noun crackdown

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with crackdown