to crack down
63
3.8
- phrasal verb
- /kræk daʊn/
:
tomar medidas enérgicas contra
- Authorities are planning to crack down on tax evasion among high-income earners.
- crack down on corruption
- government cracks down
- crack down on illegal activity
Two years ago, Chinese government started to crack down on this relationship.
- Two years ago, Chinese government started to crack down on this relationship.
- It's going to just continue to crack down on any SMS and any cold calling.
- Now look, I've felt that regulators should have cracked down on the Winklevoss twins for quite some time now.
- Europe, I think the European Parliament is, is starting to crack down on that.
- And then at a certain point the federal government cracked down on it.
- It makes it more dangerous, not less to crack down on pain pills.
- But actually when it comes to cracking down on dissent, they are the most terrifying of all.
- But the last time Hillary ran for president, her very first campaign ad, her very first point she made was that she would crack down on video games.
- And it comes at the same time as there are more fears, again, that China is cracking down on specifically textile companies.
- Like I think just like with North Korea is a good example of where cracking down too much can completely destroy your country.
- And part of the, the history is, is part of the, the cracking down against cannabis was one way to oppress, you know, minority cultures.
- And they decided that they needed to crack down on the protesters and to help them do that, they needed us as an enemy again.
- OK, so if the SEC were to crack down on crypto or at least try to bring it inside the current regulatory framework, what might they do?
Examples
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During the same period, however, the government has also cracked down on many Islamic organizations.
Academic text (2009) -
So despite the government cracking down, protesters have remained in the streets and are now demanding wholesale reforms in all parts of Nigerian life.
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If this school is going to get back on the winning track, we have to start cracking down immediately.
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We also have to crack down on crime and illegal drugs.
Fiction book (2000) -
The government's cracking down on the workers.
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Real efforts must also be made to crack down on corruption.
Academic text (2004) -
Tax officials will be sent into the projects to crack down on people living in luxury while on the dole.
Academic text (2011) -
Here in New York City today, vice squad police began cracking down on pornography.
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The international community must pressure the Afghan government to crack down on corruption and develop robust political parties.
Academic text (2011) -
In the 1980s and 1990s, the United States cracked down on drug transit through the Caribbean and Miami.
Academic text (2009)
Synonyms
73
3.5
To limit or control something to stop it getting worse
18
4.2
To use strict rules and punishments to stop bad or illegal actions
13
5.3
Take strong action to stop something bad or illegal
8
8.1
Forcefully stop something like a protest or rumor
5
6.8
To use firm authority to make people work harder and follow rules
2
8.4
Punish someone strongly for bad behaviour
1
8.2
To take firm action to punish someone
Stop something by using force or strict rules
Antonyms
How Strict
Surface Forms
Morphology
crack + down
The verb 'crack' carries a literal sense of breaking and a metaphorical sense of applying force or punishment, and 'down' functions as a directional/intensifying particle, so a learner could partially infer a meaning related to strong action. However, the specific sense 'to take severe measures to stop or control behavior' is an idiomatic extension that is not fully predictable from the parts, making comprehension only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Crack down may come from the image of someone using a heavy tool to crack something down with a hard hit to make it stop. So to crack down on bad behavior means to take strong action to 'stop or control' it.