strike down

verb

struck down; struck down also stricken down; striking down; strikes down

transitive verb

: annul, nullify

The board struck down the appointment.

especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable

The Supreme Court struck down the law.

Synonyms of strike down

• abolish
• repeal
• cancel
• set aside
• roll back
• avoid
• overturn

Examples of strike down in a Sentence

a law that was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as unconstitutional

Recent Examples on the Web

The Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down statutory removal protections for agency heads depended on the idea that the agency head was exercising executive authority that must ultimately be accountable to the president. — C. Joseph Ross Daval, STAT, 30 Oct. 2026

It’s been more than eight years since the Supreme Court issued the landmark ruling that struck down a federal law that prohibited states from allowing gambling on sports. — David K. Li, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2026

For a time the sea stars did double duty controlling the urchins, but in recent years they have been struck down by an uncontrollable plague, worsened by the state’s warming waters, called, quite literally, sea star wasting disease. — Joseph Ogilvy, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026

The proposal, called Amendment 3, would strike down the historic 2024 amendment that legalized access to the procedure. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for strike down

• chinatown
• tumbledown
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown

Kids Definition

strike down

verb

: to make null and void : annul

struck down the proposal

especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable

the court struck down the law

Legal Definition

strike down

transitive verb

: annul, nullify

the trustee…can strike down transfers

—J. J. White and R. S. Summers

especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable

the court struck down death penalty provisions

—L. H. Tribe