mothball

音标发音

The decision to mothball the shuttle fleet has not come without criticism, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden noted.
美国宇航局局长Charles Bolden提到，将航天飞机封存的举动并非没有批评。
When demand for labour falls, firms want to hang on to them, just as they might mothball an expensive piece of machinery.
当劳动力需求降低时，公司希望像封存昂贵机械那样留住这些员工。
Moreover, since nuclear plants are cheap to operate but expensive to mothball, they are often run at full tilt even when demand for power slackens.
此外，由于运营费用低廉但封存花费甚巨，即便在核能需求增长放缓之际，核电厂通常还是会全力运行。

She hid in the back of closets where mothball gas brought tears to her eyes.
NEWYORKER: Ziggurat
It is also hard for airlines to mothball planes they are still paying for.
ECONOMIST: Airlines in the recession
The Georgetown factory was able to mothball one of its three painting booths, saving energy and upkeep costs.
FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

a small, white ball containing a chemical with a strong smell that keeps moths away from clothes
to stop work on an idea, plan, or job, but leaving it in such a way that you can start on it again at some point in the future

A mothball is a small ball made of a special chemical, which you can put among clothes or blankets in order to keep moths away.
If someone in authority mothballs a plan, factory, or piece of equipment, they decide to stop developing or using it, perhaps temporarily. ...