mothball
noun
[ ˈmɒθbɔːl ]
• a small pellet of a pungent substance, typically naphthalene, put in among stored garments to keep away clothes moths.
mothball
verb
• store (clothes) with mothballs.
• stop using (a piece of equipment or a building) but keep it in good condition so that it can readily be used again.
• "it would cost the company a lot of money just to mothball the mine"
in mothballs
• unused but kept in good condition for future use.
• "it was no use keeping aircraft in mothballs without fully trained crews to fly them"
