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 decision centered on a referendum campaign seeking to strike down the map at the ballot box. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

Calls to 911 released Monday in the aftermath of last week’s lightning deaths in Margate revealed a neighborhood in panic as a mother and child were struck down and bolts of electricity flashed through the sky. — David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026

In horizontal-review mode, the Court has struck down laws limiting slavery and child labor, establishing income taxes and minimum wages, and restricting corporations from tilting elections or firing workers for union activity. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Monday struck down one of those holds. — Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 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