Dictionaries › English

mothball

Pronunciation: /ˈmɒθbɔːl/

The English word “mothball” has 4 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. 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.

verb

  1. To store (clothing, etc.) with mothballs (noun sense 1).
  2. 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.
  3. To stop work on (a plan, project, etc.) for the time being; to postpone, to shelve.

Etymology

The noun is derived from moth + ball. The verb is derived from the noun.

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “mothball” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.