as in to dismantle
to stop using (something) while keeping it to be possibly used in the future
Many navy ships were mothballed after the war.
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Recent Examples of mothball
The Devil’s Place whiskey list also includes complete collections of special expressions and bottles from distilleries long mothballed.
—
Don Tse, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The company began construction twice on the development, but now has mothballed that project.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
Turkey conducted a single test firing near Sinop in 2020, then quietly mothballed the system.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
The bank mothballed plans for the plot of land and hired brokers to sell it in 2014, a process that drew interest from a handful of residential developers who considered the site a prime opportunity to build luxury apartments overlooking the river.
—Jack Sidders, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mothball
Don Tse, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The company began construction twice on the development, but now has mothballed that project.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2026
Turkey conducted a single test firing near Sinop in 2020, then quietly mothballed the system.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
The bank mothballed plans for the plot of land and hired brokers to sell it in 2014, a process that drew interest from a handful of residential developers who considered the site a prime opportunity to build luxury apartments overlooking the river.
—Jack Sidders, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mothball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mothball
dismantle
Verb
-
Democrats quickly challenged his voting executive order in court and, despite his courtroom presence, the justices seemed skeptical of his bid to dismantle the Constitution’s provisions providing birthright citizenship.—
Steven Sloan,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The Bruins dismantled South Carolina 77-62 in a November game at Pauley Pavilion, launching themselves on a path toward the program’s first NCAA Final Four appearance last March, when their season ended with an 85-51 national semifinal loss to UConn.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mothball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mothball. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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