strike down

verb

struck down; struck down also stricken down; striking down; strikes down

transitive verb

: annul, nullify

The board struck down the appointment.

especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable

The Supreme Court struck down the law.

Synonyms of strike down

• abolish
• repeal
• cancel
• set aside
• roll back
• avoid
• overturn

Examples of strike down in a Sentence

a law that was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as unconstitutional

Recent Examples on the Web

The next month, a panel of federal judges struck down Texas’s mid-decade redistricting plan, in significant part on the basis of Dhillon’s letter supporting the creation of a new map. —Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 13 Apr. 2026

His Second Amendment rulings — such as one that struck down California’s longstanding ban on assault weapons, in which Benitez compared the AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife — drew the ire of those seeking to limit gun violence through legislation. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026

That ban was struck down by a federal judge in September 2020. —Mark Osborne, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026

Huntington Beach voters approved a similar initiative in 2024, which was later struck down by the California Supreme Court. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for strike down

• chinatown
• tumbledown
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown

Kids Definition

strike down

verb

: to make null and void : annul

struck down the proposal

especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable

the court struck down the law

Legal Definition

strike down

transitive verb

: annul, nullify

the trustee…can strike down transfers

—J. J. White and R. S. Summers

especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable

the court struck down death penalty provisions

—L. H. Tribe