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

This market emerged in earnest last fall, following the Supreme Court deciding to hear the case against IEEPA tariffs in September, signalling to speculators there was a real shot of the tariffs being struck down. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2026

Last year, a federal judge struck down the policy, ruling it unconstitutional. —Kayla Huynh, jsonline.com, 6 Mar. 2026

Though drone seems unremarkable compared with cutting-edge weapon technologies and the majority have been struck down by American allies, many Shaheds have still managed to hit their targets. —Nur Hikmah Md Ali, CNBC, 6 Mar. 2026

The judge ordered customs to stop collecting the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down last month on goods going through the liquidation process. —Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 5 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