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 appeals court panel had halted the district court’s ruling in October 2024 pending appeal, roughly two weeks after the lower court had struck down Texas’s ballot harvesting ban. —Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 13 Feb. 2026

Global Port Tracker highlighted, however, that even if the IEEPA tariffs are struck down, concerns abound regarding the administration’s next move. —Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 10 Feb. 2026

Some court decisions have also struck down regulations that limited the number of top TV stations in a single market that one company could own. —Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 7 Feb. 2026

Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018, states have been allowed to decide whether to loosen their gaming laws. —Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 5 Feb. 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