shoot down

verb

shot down; shooting down; shoots down
Synonyms of shoot downnext

transitive verb

1
: to cause to fall by shooting
shot down the helicopter
especially : to kill in this way
was shot down in cold blood
2
: to put an end to : defeat, reject
shoot down legislation
3
4
: discredit sense 2
shoot down a theory

Examples of shoot down in a Sentence

nowadays the aging activist is routinely shot down in most quarters of the media and dismissed as an irrelevant crank every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Castro, 94, and his brother, Fidel Castro, were accused of ordering the Cuban air force to shoot down two civilian planes that belonged to the Brothers nonprofit group, which carried out rescue missions to save Cubans fleeing their homeland. Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 19 May 2026 The bill had previously been shot down because of a lack of Republican support. Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 19 May 2026 Cuba has long defended its decision to shoot down the planes, insisting that Brothers to the Rescue had encroached on the country's sovereignty. Joe Walsh, CBS News, 18 May 2026 The city aims to revive a version of the Downtown Specific Plan that was originally proposed in 2018, but was shot down by officials at the time. Hannah Elsmore, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for shoot down

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shoot down was in 1657

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoot%20down. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

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