shoot down

verb

shot down; shooting down; shoots down

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

: deflate, ridicule

4

: discredit sense 2

shoot down a theory

Synonyms of shoot down

• ridicule
• mock
• laugh (at)
• rag on

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

The ministry in Moscow also said that its forces shot down at least 258 Ukrainian long-range drones overnight. — David Brennan, ABC News, 30 July 2026

Also, the public furore might cause Infantino and FIFA to second guess themselves and withdraw the idea, much like the Super League initiative was largely shot down within a few days of its proposal due to fan and media tumult. — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 29 July 2026

The Padres added another run before the inning ended, completing a four-run burst that shot down Miami’s best opportunity to end the streak. — Tyler M. Carmona july 26, Miami Herald, 26 July 2026

In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, security forces shot down explosive-laden drones near the regional capital Irbil's international airport. — Jane Arraf, NPR, 24 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shoot down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown