Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a small ball of naphthalene or sometimes of camphor for placing in closets or other storage areas to repel moths from clothing, blankets, etc.
verb (used with object)
- to put into storage or reserve; inactivate.
adjective
- inactive; unused; stored away: a mothball fleet.
- in mothballs,
- in disuse or in storage, especially with reference to standby equipment.
- (of ideas) dismissed as unworthy of further deliberation.
noun
- Also called: camphor ball a small ball of camphor or naphthalene used to repel clothes moths in stored clothing, blankets, etc
- put in mothballs to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc)
verb (tr)
- to prepare (a ship, aircraft, etc) for a long period of storage by sealing all openings with plastic to prevent corrosion
- to take (a factory, plant, etc) out of operation but maintain it so that it can be used in the future
- to postpone work on (a project, activity, etc)
also moth-ball, moth ball, “naphthalene ball stored among fabrics to keep off moths,” 1891, from moth + ball (n.1).
1902 in a literal sense (to store away with mothballs), from mothball (n.); figurative sense from 1901.