crack down phrasal verb ( see also ↑ crack )
to become more strict in dealing with a problem and punishing the people involved
crack down on
The government is determined to crack down on terrorism.
The police are cracking down hard on violent crime.
⇨ ↑ crackdown
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to become broken
▪ break verb [intransitive] to become damaged and separate into pieces:
Plastic breaks quite easily.
▪ smash verb [intransitive] to break after being hit with a lot of force:
The bowl smashed as it hit the floor.
▪ shatter verb [intransitive] to break into a lot of small pieces:
The glass shattered all over the pavement.
▪ crack verb [intransitive] if something cracks, a line appears on the surface, which means that it could later break into separate pieces:
The ice was starting to crack.
▪ burst verb [intransitive] if a tyre, balloon, pipe etc bursts, it gets a hole and air or liquid suddenly comes out of it:
She blew up the balloon until it burst.
▪ split verb [intransitive] to break in a straight line:
The damp had caused the wood to split.
▪ crumble verb [intransitive] to break into a powder or a lot of small pieces:
The cork just crumbled in my hand.