crackdown

[krak-doun] /ˈkrækˌdaʊn/

noun

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

Origin

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

Examples from the web for crackdown

Every increase in sentences, every law enforcement crackdown means more customers and more profit to them.
She attributed the falling rates to a government crackdown on illegal logging.
The committee's action could mark a crackdown on companies that sell genetic tests directly to consumers.
The fires and the resulting crackdown can both be read as complex social and political reactions to rapid change.
From time to time there are some half-hearted attempts at a crackdown.
Over the last month, though, the pace and strength of protest and crackdown has intensified.
In the crackdown that followed, hundreds of the signatories were interrogated and numerous blogs were shut down.
The actions continue an ongoing law-enforcement crackdown against alleged members of the two groups.
Today, amid a heavy crackdown on dissent, they sound cruelly prescient.
Some hedge-fund managers give warning that a crackdown will do more harm than good for investment research.

British Dictionary definitions for crackdown

crack down

verb (intransitive, adverb) often foll by on

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

noun

severe or repressive measures

Word Origin and History for crackdown

also crack down; 1935 (n.), 1940 (v.), from verbal phrase, from crack (v.) + down (adv.).

Slang definitions & phrases for crackdown

noun

A particular instance or severity of punishment, law enforcement, etc: The Mayor again vowed a crackdown on the porn shops (1930s+)