1. a small ball of chemical pesticide used to protect stored clothing from moths

1. to put something into storage or suspend its use indefinitely

Examples

• She placed mothballs in the closet to protect her wool sweaters.
• The old trunk smelled strongly of mothballs.
• The company decided to mothball the factory due to declining sales.
• The navy mothballed several ships after the war ended.
• They had to mothball the project when funding was cut.
• The mothballs kept the insects away from the stored blankets.
• Management chose to mothball the outdated equipment rather than sell it.