shoot down
verb
shot down; shooting down; shoots down
1
: to cause to fall by shooting
shot down the helicopter
especially
: to kill in this way
was shot down in cold blood
4
: discredit sense 2
shoot down a theory
Synonyms
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
Last Updated: Live Coverage Feed 14 hours ago U.S. Says Navy Ship Downs Drone Launched From Yemen
By
Nancy A. Youssef
A U.S. Navy destroyer sailing near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait shot down a drone launched from Yemen, U.S. officials said.
—
WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
Just one week earlier, Navy officials announced the same ship shot down another drone originating in Yemen that was heading in the direction of the ship.
—Matthew Seyler, ABC News, 23 Nov. 2023
Yet the concessions to Beijing have been piling up for nine months, ever since a U.S. fighter jet shot down a surveillance device that the People’s Liberation Army sent over the middle of the country.
—The Editors, National Review, 15 Nov. 2023
Hers was a bombardier who was shot down twice and earned a purple heart.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Nov. 2023
American fighter jets struck an Iranian weapons facility in eastern Syria on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, and an American surveillance drone, an MQ-9 Reaper, was shot down off the coast of Yemen by militants, a senior U.S. military official said.
—Frances
vinall, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023
Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, the Oct. 14 crash, which led to a murder charge against the driver, was taken up by conspiracy theorists, right-wing extremists and others on social media, whose rampant speculation was quickly shot down by police.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023
Last week, the U.S. says the Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper that had been flying in international airspace off of Yemen.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 15 Nov. 2023
Unlike an incident last month in which an American destroyer shot down multiple drones and missiles fired in the direction of Israel, this drone was headed toward the USS Thomas Hudner.
—Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 15 Nov. 2023
See More
WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
Just one week earlier, Navy officials announced the same ship shot down another drone originating in Yemen that was heading in the direction of the ship.
—Matthew Seyler, ABC News, 23 Nov. 2023
Yet the concessions to Beijing have been piling up for nine months, ever since a U.S. fighter jet shot down a surveillance device that the People’s Liberation Army sent over the middle of the country.
—The Editors, National Review, 15 Nov. 2023
Hers was a bombardier who was shot down twice and earned a purple heart.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Nov. 2023
American fighter jets struck an Iranian weapons facility in eastern Syria on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, and an American surveillance drone, an MQ-9 Reaper, was shot down off the coast of Yemen by militants, a senior U.S. military official said.
—Frances
vinall, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023
Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, the Oct. 14 crash, which led to a murder charge against the driver, was taken up by conspiracy theorists, right-wing extremists and others on social media, whose rampant speculation was quickly shot down by police.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023
Last week, the U.S. says the Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper that had been flying in international airspace off of Yemen.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 15 Nov. 2023
Unlike an incident last month in which an American destroyer shot down multiple drones and missiles fired in the direction of Israel, this drone was headed toward the USS Thomas Hudner.
—Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 15 Nov. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shoot down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near shoot down
Cite this Entry
“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoot%20down. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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