mothball
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: compound
Etymology: The noun is derived from moth + ball. The verb is derived from the noun.
Compound parts: moth
ball
Inflected forms:
form: mothballs
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: moth-ball
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: moth ball
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: mothballs
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: mothballing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: mothballed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: mothballed
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A small ball of chemical pesticide (originally camphor and now typically naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene) and deodorant placed in or around clothing and other articles to deter moth larvae which may damage them.
pos: noun
tags: in-plural
examples: There were two carloads of equipments. Upon their return to the armory the blankets were shook and repacked with mothballs; […]
Me and Solly, as I now called him, prepared to shake off our moth-balls and wing our way against the arc-lights of the joyous and tuneful East.
The church interior was as comfortable as Sunday-morning toast and marmalade— […] gorgeous stained-glass windows, and a general polite creaking of ladies' best stays and gentlemen's stiff shirt-bosoms, and an odor of the best cologne and moth-balls.
Mr. President, I have supported the draft and shall do so as long as it is necessary. But I believe that when a draftee has served his 2 years and is released for normal civilian life, he should be free to place his uniform in mothballs until the Nation's safety requires his return to active duty.
gloss: To store (clothing, etc.) with mothballs (noun sense 1).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To stop using (something), and often to put it in storage; specifically, while keeping it in good condition so it can be used in the future.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: They mothballed the old version after the new one came out.
There is already considerable spare primary capacity because the coal is accessible and merely needs the men and machines to get it. We are unaware, however, of the physical and economic possibilities of mothballing pits, or of the extent to which the present surplus capacity of 40 million tons would match the capacity of loss-making pits which one would like to close.
Following the war, along with the inevitable sharp reduction of forces, including the "mothballing" of a considerable part of the fleet as an inactive reserve, there were a few important developments affecting the navy.
Years later, he [Walter Simonson] characterized the company's behavior as "abrupt, rude, and disrespectful," and railed against the mothballing of veteran creators.
Some schools might have an art studio, an area of forestry in the playground, or a performance stage in the hall – all exceptional assets. Just check they get plenty of use and aren't mothballed while the school concentrates on (you guessed it) maths and literacy.
In the short term NR [National Rail] could well mothball the line given its lack of traffic.
Before [Elon] Musk, America's space industry was moribund. In 2011, NASA mothballed the last space shuttle, after inking a deal with SpaceX to make uncrewed cargo resupply runs to the International Space Station (ISS).
gloss: To stop work on (a plan, project, etc.) for the time being; to postpone, to shelve.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: The fact that the START Treaty has just been signed is reason enough not to build one rail garrison train before mothballing the project.
Derived words: demothball
mothballed
mothballer
mothballing
unmothball
Translations: