shoot down

verb

shot down; shooting down; shoots down
Synonyms of shoot downnext

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
4
: discredit sense 2
shoot down a theory

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
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.
After two high-profile incidents, the US Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration are planning a joint test of a laser system this weekend designed to shoot down drones, according to a statement from the military. Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 6 Mar. 2026 At the core of the problem was a cost mismatch between expensive interceptors used to shoot down comparatively cheap Iranian drones. Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026 On Monday, in the first manned aerial combat of the conflict, Qatari fighter jets shot down two Iranian Su-24 bombers headed toward Al-Udeid Air Base — the US’ largest in the Middle East — and the Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas complex. Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 5 Mar. 2026 The Broward County Commission has shot down a proposal that would have cleared the way for a property owner to put up warehouses on and near environmentally sensitive land, some of which has been home to a colony of African vervet monkeys since the late 1940s. Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shoot down

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shoot down was in 1657

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoot%20down. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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