1
as in to ridicule
to make (someone or something) the object of unkind laughter
nowadays the aging activist is routinely shot down in most quarters of the media and dismissed as an irrelevant crank
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to dismiss
to reject by or as if by a vote
every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to refute
to prove to be false
the results of several studies shoot down the hypothesis that coffee causes heart attacks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of shoot down
In a statement on social media, the air force said Russia used 537 drones and missiles in the attack; 249 were shot down and the rest disappeared from the radar, the air force said.
—
Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 29 June 2025
Jordan once fired on a small hut suspected of shooting down a U.S. helicopter and later learned that women and children were among the dead inside, a revelation that still haunts him even though his actions were found to be legal, the clemency petition says.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Post-war, the IAF claimed to have shot down 90% of incoming missiles.
—Sebastien Roblin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Ukraine claimed to have shot down or neutralized 475 of the 537 drones and missiles fired, though Ukraine and Russia are known to inflate the effectiveness of their air defense capabilities.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 29 June 2025
Jordan once fired on a small hut suspected of shooting down a U.S. helicopter and later learned that women and children were among the dead inside, a revelation that still haunts him even though his actions were found to be legal, the clemency petition says.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 26 June 2025
Post-war, the IAF claimed to have shot down 90% of incoming missiles.
—Sebastien Roblin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Ukraine claimed to have shot down or neutralized 475 of the 537 drones and missiles fired, though Ukraine and Russia are known to inflate the effectiveness of their air defense capabilities.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shoot down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoot down
Verb
-
The branding flip-flop was ridiculed online — which WBD’s social team tried to get ahead of by sending out a flurry of self-deprecating memes poking fun at the name switcheroo.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
9 July 2025
-
Gastineau, 68, says he has been ridiculed on social media over how he is portrayed.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
6 July 2025
Verb
-
With the reciprocal tariffs, Trump is dismissing the rules governing world trade.—
Aamer Madhani,
Los Angeles Times,
12 July 2025
-
So far, nearly 60,000 federal employees have been dismissed, with the State Department layoffs marking the latest round of cuts.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 July 2025
Verb
-
The story included statements from Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel refuting the premise, but not Bongino.—
Eric Tucker,
Chicago Tribune,
11 July 2025
-
The memo also concluded that Epstein died by suicide, refuting other claims that there was foul play behind his 2019 death in prison.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
10 July 2025
Verb
-
And of course, that following Sunday, Oliver did indeed mock his corporate bosses for the move.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
8 July 2025
-
Many wanted Tiger to comment, but others chose to mock Williams.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
Verb
-
In that incident, a rooftop gunman fired at Trump from roughly 150 yards away, grazing his right ear and killing one attendee, Corey Comperatore, before Secret Service agents shot the attacker dead.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025
-
ATCs are under particular scrutiny after January’s crash in the US capital between an airliner and a military helicopter, which killed 67: Experts believe human error played a role.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
11 July 2025
Verb
-
That bill passed, but under pressure from local officials, Lamont sided with Republicans and vetoed the measure.—
Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
11 July 2025
-
The other bill, introduced in Nevada, would have designated October as Menopause Awareness Month, but it was vetoed by the governor in June.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
11 July 2025
Verb
-
In both cases, as there was no misconduct, there were no apologies offered and no admission of guilt, in an effort to protect their reputations by refusing contrition for their journalism.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
7 July 2025
-
Prioritizing TikTok Shop's growth could motivate ByteDance to back down from refusing to sell the app, but ultimately, China would still need to sign off, Trump has said.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 July 2025
Verb
-
Confusion reigned, and so on Friday, the stock went from positive to negative to deeply negative in a matter of hours.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
2 Feb. 2025
-
Travelers also need to negative COVID-19 test within one day of flying to return to the United States.—
Dallas News,
Dallas News,
7 Feb. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoot%20down. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share