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
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.
About twelve years ago, a contractor named Geary Blackwood hauled a massive flint rock to one of his properties, on a busy highway, to mark a row of mailboxes that kept getting mowed down. Paige Williams, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025 CeeDee Lamb: Celebrating with his back to a play, Lamb got a little too close to the action on the sideline and was mowed down by side judge Anthony Jeffries. Jim Reineking, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025 Daniels and Jackson are veterans who figure to mow down defenders in the run game. Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2025 The same bear who took out soldiers earlier entered the museum hot on Maggie’s trail, easily mowing down some walkers in its… well, grizzly path. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 9 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for mow down

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mow down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mow%20down. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!