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

In 2006, the court reversed a decision that had struck down a state voter ID law shortly before the election, ruling that judges shouldn't change procedures too close to voting. —ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accused the Republican National Committee on Monday of asking the Supreme Court to legislate from the bench by striking down late-arriving mail ballot laws, rather than having Congress or individual states pass laws ending mail ballot collection on Election Day. —Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2026

Friedman did not strike down those portions. —CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026

Musk was embroiled in a legal battle over his Tesla pay package, which could grant him roughly $56 billion, and was struck down by a judge before being reapproved by shareholders late last year. —Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 21 Mar. 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