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mothballing

USMAWTH-baw-ling/ˈmɔθbɔlɪŋ/UKMOTH-bawl-ing/ˈmɒθbɔːlɪŋ/

Noun pluralmothballings

2 meanings of mothballing

Practice

  1. 1
    verb
    Present participle and gerund of mothball.

    The airline is mothballing a dozen jets until travel demand recovers.

    Critics warned that mothballing the steel plant would put hundreds of people out of work.

    Note

    The metaphor comes from the wardrobe: mothballs, small balls of naphthalene, keep stored clothes safe until they are wanted again. Mothballing a ship, a factory or a plan likewise means putting it away in good condition, with at least the hope of using it later, which is what separates it from scrapping, where nothing is kept.

  2. 2
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The act of taking something out of service and storing it for possible later use.

    The mothballing of the aircraft carrier left its crew to be reassigned to other ships.

    The factory has survived two mothballings and is now back in full production.

    Similardecommissioning, shelving

mothballing is a form of mothball

mothball, verb: To stop using something and store or shelve it, while keeping it in good condition. Full entry

Forms
mothballmothballs he/she/itmothballing -ing formmothballed past tense, past participle
Spelling
mothball → mothballing: add -ing

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