MOTHBALL Definition & Meaning

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mothball

[ mawth-bawl, moth- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

a small ball of naphthalene or sometimes of camphor for placing in closets or other storage areas to repel moths from clothing, blankets, etc.

mothball

/ ˈ��ɒθˌ��ɔː�� /

Also calledcamphor ball a small ball of camphor or naphthalene used to repel clothes moths in stored clothing, blankets, etc
put in mothballs
to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc)

to prepare (a ship, aircraft, etc) for a long period of storage by sealing all openings with plastic to prevent corrosion
to take (a factory, plant, etc) out of operation but maintain it so that it can be used in the future
to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc)

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First recorded in 1905–10; moth + ball ¹

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in mothballs,
1. in disuse or in storage, especially with reference to standby equipment.
2. (of ideas) dismissed as unworthy of further deliberation.

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Examples have not been reviewed.

He was "mothballed" for several years and his handlers only resumed contact with him last December.

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Come November 2022 all flights were grounded when owners Peel Group said it was no longer financially viable and mothballed the site.

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Since the disaster, the toxic material lay in the mothballed factory for decades, polluting groundwater in the surrounding areas.

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Since then, the toxic material had been lying in the mothballed factory, polluting groundwater in the surrounding areas.

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David Chapman, executive director of UK Hospitality Cymru, said having to mothball rooms wasn't uncommon.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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