Meanings
present singular third person cracks down · participle present cracking down · participle past cracked down · past cracked down
- idiomaticoftenTo take harsh action (against), as when enforcing a law or rule more stringently than before.
The authorities are trying to crack down on drunk driving during the holidays.
3 more examples
At this point they're hoping that the government will crack down and will put an end to deceptive rental offerings.
He wished he had tens of thousands more troops under Andez's control so he could round up every one of these demonstrators. But it was futile to continue cracking down. The stunnings, beatings and arrests had only inflamed them further.
2009, Kevin J. Anderson, The Ashes of WorldsIn 2026, President Trump also signed Executive Order 14411, which gives U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) additional tools to crack down on transshipment by strengthening customs enforcement and increasing trade transparency.
2026 August 28, The White House, The Great Transshipment Scam: Rise, Scope, and Costs, archived from the original on 14 Aug 2026, page 3
Synonyms & antonyms
verbrepress or suppress (something regarded as undesirable)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 嚴厲打擊 /严厉打击
- 嚴厲打擊 /严厉打击 (yánlì dǎjī)take harsh action against
Finnish iskeä
- iskeätake harsh action against
French sévir, frapper
- sévirtake harsh action against
- frappertake harsh action against
German hart durchgreifen (bei), scharf vorgehen (gegen)
- hart durchgreifen (bei)take harsh action against
- scharf vorgehen (gegen)take harsh action against
Hebrew נקט אמצעים, דיכא
- נקט אמצעים (nakát emtsaím)take harsh action against
- דיכא (diké)take harsh action against
Italian usare la mano pesante, dare un giro di vite
- usare la mano pesantetake harsh action against
- dare un giro di vitetake harsh action against
- opporsitake harsh action against
Russian подавля́ть, подави́ть
- подавля́ть (podavljátʹ)take harsh action against
- подави́ть (podavítʹ)take harsh action against
- предпринима́ть (predprinimátʹ)take harsh action against
- предприня́ть решительные меры (rešitelʹnyje)take harsh action against
Spanish suprimir, poner mano dura contra
- suprimirtake harsh action against
- poner mano dura contratake harsh action against
- sojuzgartake harsh action against
- reprimirtake harsh action against
- doblegartake harsh action against
- oprimirtake harsh action against
- acabar contake harsh action against
- ponerse duro contake harsh action against
- aplicar mano duratake harsh action against
- ajustar las riendastake harsh action against
- ponerse serio contake harsh action against
- castigar atake harsh action against
Swedish tillslag
- tillslagtake harsh action against
Vietnamese trấn áp, trừng trị
- trấn áptake harsh action against
- trừng trịtake harsh action against
Cite this entry
crack down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20down
“crack down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20down. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crack down,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crack%20down.
Source: crack down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.