mothball

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Their temporary closure or mothball can feel like it diminishes a sense of belonging and local pride to a small rural community which has historically had a local school," it added.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

Meanwhile, the metal’s prices could be supported by supply concerns after miner South32 disclosed plans to mothball its smelter in Mozambique, according to the analysts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Manolo Blahnik did a shoehorn, Isaac Mizrahi designed a mothball that’s a cube, so it didn’t roll, and I ran it at 30 pages with the title “Hey, Target: How About This?”

From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2023

Also, the shipyard is home to a mothball fleet — many ships on the way to scrapping — which fluctuates in size.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 3, 2021

For example, many combat ships are being returned to active duty from the "mothball fleet" and many others can be put into service on very short notice.

From State of the Union Address by Truman, Harry S.