mothball
Use Mothball in a sentence
Ads
Moth Control www.terminix.com/ Get A Free Moth Inspection. Start Saving Today. Guaranteed Solutions!
Looking for Moth Balls? www.moth-prevention.com/MothBalls Deal With Your Moth Problem Now! The Widest Range for Moth Control
noun
verb (used with object)
2.
to put into storage or reserve; inactivate.
adjective
Idioms 3.
inactive; unused; stored away: a mothball fleet.
4.
in mothballs,
a.
in disuse or in storage, especially with reference to standby equipment.
b.
(of ideas) dismissed as unworthy of further deliberation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To mothball
Collins
World English Dictionary
mothball (ˈmɒθˌbɔːl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Also called: camphor ball a small ball of camphor or naphthalene used to repel clothes moths in stored clothing, blankets, etc |
| 2. | put in mothballs to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc) |
| —vb | |
| 3. | to prepare (a ship, aircraft, etc) for a long period of storage by sealing all openings with plastic to prevent corrosion |
| 4. | to take (a factory, plant, etc) out of operation but maintain it so that it can be used in the future |
| 5. | to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc) |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Mothball
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
mothball
1906, naphthalene ball stored among fabrics to keep off moths, from moth + ball. The verb in the figurative sense is first recorded 1949, in ref. to retiring of U.S. warships after World War II.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The building was placed in mothball status and is ready for reuse should the need arise.
Simply tape a mothball to a piece of wood or cardboard large enough to cover the open top of your funnel.
Mothballs may be pinned in a box by attaching the mothball to the head of an ordinary pin.
The decision to mothball school libraries and severely cut back libraries throughout the country is disturbing.
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
