a small ball of chemical pesticide and deodorant placed in or around clothing and other articles susceptible to damage from mold or moth larvae in order to protect them from this damage; mothballs have either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene as their active ingredient
If someone in authority mothballs a plan, factory, or piece of equipment, they decide to stop developing or using it, perhaps temporarily. the decision to mothball the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, for safety and political reasons. to stop using a factory, equipment etc or to not continue with a plan, temporarily but possibly for a long time