mow down
phrasal verb
mowed down; mowed down or mown down; mowing down; mows down
informal
: to kill or knock down (a person or many people) in a sudden and violent way
The soldiers were mowed down by machine guns.
The car mowed down four pedestrians.
Examples of mow down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Listen to this article Loading your audio article The little girl mowed down by an SUV in Harlem was just days away from celebrating her birthday when she was killed, heartbroken relatives told the Daily News Friday.
—
Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024
Now, these prickly grazers are mowing down the kelp en masse and creating extensive urchin barrens where there were once dense, flourishing kelp forests.
—Jennifer Adler, Vox, 7 July 2024
Tourist fatally mowed down in armed robbery outside California fashion mall, sparking wild police chase
A New Zealand tourist was fatally run over by a group of suspects who were trying to rob her at gunpoint outside a California fashion mall, sparking a wild police chase.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 3 July 2024
Over the last decade, the same sort of guns were used in many of the worst mass shootings in the country, mowing down high school students and teachers, concert-goers and church parishioners, nightclub patrons and county employees.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for mow down 
Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 12 July 2024
Now, these prickly grazers are mowing down the kelp en masse and creating extensive urchin barrens where there were once dense, flourishing kelp forests.
—Jennifer Adler, Vox, 7 July 2024
Tourist fatally mowed down in armed robbery outside California fashion mall, sparking wild police chase
A New Zealand tourist was fatally run over by a group of suspects who were trying to rob her at gunpoint outside a California fashion mall, sparking a wild police chase.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 3 July 2024
Over the last decade, the same sort of guns were used in many of the worst mass shootings in the country, mowing down high school students and teachers, concert-goers and church parishioners, nightclub patrons and county employees.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for mow down
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mow down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mow down
Cite this Entry
“Mow down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mow%20down. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share