Meaning & use
clamp down
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To take strict action to stop something, especially crime, protest, or rule-breaking.
Grammar: No object; followed by 'on' plus the thing being controlled: clamp down on cheating.
Patterns
- clamp down on something
- clamp down hard
- clamp down on someone
The city promised to clamp down on illegal parking.
Police have clamped down on street racing after several accidents.
The school clamped down on phone use during lessons.
nouncountable
A strict official action or set of actions to stop a particular activity.
Grammar: Usually written as two words 'clampdown' as a noun; countable, so it takes 'a' or a plural.
Patterns
- a clampdown on something
- launch a clampdown
The government announced a clampdown on tax evasion.
A sudden clampdown on protests surprised the capital.
Word forms
| third person singular | clamps down |
|---|---|
| past tense | clamped down |
| past participle | clamped down |
| -ing form | clamping down |
Common combinations
- clamp down on crime
- The new mayor promised to clamp down on crime.
- clamp down hard
- The authorities clamped down hard after the riots.
- a clampdown on immigration
- The party proposed a clampdown on immigration.
- government clampdown
- A government clampdown closed several websites.
- clamp down on spending
- The company clamped down on unnecessary spending.
Synonyms and how they differ
- crack down
- Very close in meaning and slightly more informal; it also takes 'on' and is often used about rules and crime.
- suppress
- Stronger and usually transitive: you suppress something directly, often by force, and it suggests harsher measures.
- restrict
- Focuses on limiting something rather than punishing it, and it is transitive: restrict imports.
Opposites
Word family
- clampdown noun
- The noun form, often written as one word.
Commonly confused: clamp down or clam up?
clamp down vs clam up
A different phrasal verb meaning to suddenly refuse to speak; the sound is similar but the meaning is unrelated.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Clamp down' is intransitive and takes the preposition 'on' before the activity: clamp down on speeding. Option 2 omits 'on', option 3 uses the wrong preposition, and option 4 separates the phrase incorrectly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “clamp down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.