MOTHBALL


Meaning of MOTHBALL in English

I. ˈmȯth-ˌbȯl noun

Date: 1906

1. : a ball made formerly of camphor but now often of naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene and used to keep moths from clothing

2. plural : a condition of protective storage

put the ships in mothball s after the war

also : a state of having been rejected for further use or dismissed from further consideration

put that idea in mothball s

II. transitive verb

Date: 1943

1. : to deactivate (as a ship) and prevent deterioration chiefly by dehumidification

2. : to withdraw from use or service and keep in reserve : put aside

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.