slap down
verb
slapped down; slapping down; slaps down
Examples of slap down in a Sentence
public protests against the dictatorial government were always promptly slapped down
Recent Examples on the Web
Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration opened a new front in its war against Harvard this week, attempting to block all international students from attending the university — and swiftly getting slapped down by a federal judge.
—
Cameron Peters, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
That's the same thing that Alabama did after the 2020 Census, only to be slapped down by the Supreme Court two years ago when a narrow court majority ruled that the state had illegally diluted the Black vote in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 27 June 2025
No federal judge of our acquaintance likes being slapped down by the Supremes.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2025
Managing to directly stay out the Lively-Baldoni fray (though not the tabloids’ speculations of the state of Lively-Swift friendship) until recently, the controversy adverse Swift was quick to slap down the subpoena Baldoni’s team served on her at the beginning of this month.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for slap down
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.
Cameron Peters, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
That's the same thing that Alabama did after the 2020 Census, only to be slapped down by the Supreme Court two years ago when a narrow court majority ruled that the state had illegally diluted the Black vote in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 27 June 2025
No federal judge of our acquaintance likes being slapped down by the Supremes.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2025
Managing to directly stay out the Lively-Baldoni fray (though not the tabloids’ speculations of the state of Lively-Swift friendship) until recently, the controversy adverse Swift was quick to slap down the subpoena Baldoni’s team served on her at the beginning of this month.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for slap down
Cite this Entry
“Slap down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slap%20down. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share