Crack down on means start dealing much more strictly with bad or illegal behaviour: the council is cracking down on illegal dumping. People say it about governments, schools and employers: the school plans to crack down on cheating. The noun is crackdown: a crackdown on fraud.
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crack down on + behaviour / people; a crackdown on something
- The council is cracking down on illegal dumping.
- The school plans to crack down on cheating.
- Inspectors launched a crackdown on unsafe working conditions.
What changed
First versionThe city is cracking down illegal parking.
RevisionThe city is cracking down on illegal parking.
Fight, stop and tackle take their object directly, so it's easy to write cracking down illegal parking. But the target needs on: cracking down on illegal parking. Without on, the sentence is missing a piece.
Cut down on means reduce something in your own life: cut down on sugar, cut down on screen time. Crack down on means come down hard on other people's misbehaviour: crack down on speeding. I'm cracking down on sugar only works as a joke, as if you'd declared war on it.
Your turn
Complete the expression for stricter enforcement: Officials are cracking down ___ ticket fraud.
Show the answer
on — The behaviour being targeted is introduced by on: cracking down on ticket fraud. For doesn't fit here.
Describe a rule-breaking habit in your town, school or office that people started getting punished for.
The organisers are cracking down on people selling copied tickets outside the venue.
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