mothball
mothball — noun
1. a small round object made of a strong-smelling chemical, placed among clothes to
a small round object made of a strong-smelling chemical, placed among clothes to prevent moths from damaging them
Talia opened the suitcase and found a mothball inside, still giving off its strong smell.
mothball + inside [container]
Felix bought a box of mothballs at the market to protect his winter sweaters.
plural form: 'a box of mothballs'
The strong smell of mothballs filled the closet where Grandmother kept her wool coats.
Anya put mothballs in the storage box before packing away her wool hats.
- camphor ball
older term; mothballs were originally made of camphor, but modern ones use naphthalene
- naphthalene ball
technical term for the chemical ingredient, rarely used in everyday speech
文法句型
usually used as plural 'mothballs'
用法筆記
Frequently used in the plural form 'mothballs' when referring to the physical objects. The singular 'mothball' describes one individual ball.
常見錯誤
2. a condition in which something is stored away or kept inactive, but is still rea
a condition in which something is stored away or kept inactive, but is still ready to be used again if needed
The hospital has been kept in mothballs since the new one opened five years ago.
phrase: 'kept in mothballs' for long-term inactivity
Omar's idea for an app was put in mothballs when he could not find investors.
The navy took the ship out of mothballs and sent it back to sea.
Several factories were placed in mothballs during the economic downturn.
The government took the old railway line out of mothballs and rebuilt it for commuters.
文法句型
in mothballs
put into mothballs
take out of mothballs
用法筆記
Almost always appears in the fixed prepositional phrases 'in mothballs,' 'put into mothballs,' or 'take out of mothballs.' The noun here is always plural and has no literal connection to chemical mothballs — it is a frozen idiomatic expression.
常見錯誤
mothball — verb
- mothballpresent simple I / you / we / they
- mothballs3rd person singular
- mothballing-ing form
- mothballedpast simple
1. to put a project, plan, or piece of equipment aside from active use, keeping it
to put a project, plan, or piece of equipment aside from active use, keeping it in a state that allows it to be brought back into operation later if needed
The city council voted to mothball the community centre until more funds become available.
mothball + [facility] + until + [condition]
Tendai decided to mothball his travel plans after his grandmother fell ill.
The company mothballed the factory and laid off all two hundred workers.
Hyun mothballed his music project when he started an engineering degree three hours away.
Niran had to mothball his research after the funding for the lab was cut.
- shelve
suggests setting something aside, possibly permanently, as if putting a book on a shelf
- suspend
more formal; suggests a temporary stop, often with a known or expected end date
- deactivate
more technical; used for equipment, systems, or devices
- archive
used for digital data, records, or information — not for physical equipment
文法句型
mothball + [project / facility / equipment]
用法筆記
Common in passive voice in news reports about government or corporate decisions. The verb implies the possibility of resuming later — if something is stopped permanently, use 'close,' 'shut down,' or 'abandon' instead.