From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishin/into mothballsin/into mothballsKEEP/STOREkept but not used for a long time With the end of the Cold War, several warships were put into mothballs. → mothball
Examples from the Corpus
in/into mothballs• They had been salted away in mothballs and smelt of naphthalene.• The £5,500 creation is currently in mothballs in a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles.• Carl Lewis' countenance was virtually put into mothballs.• And the plants that Thorn-EMI set up to press the discs will remain in mothballs. 