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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
However, other estimates, including one by Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter Fund, said Democrats could lose 19 seats if Section 2 were struck down. Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025 In 2024, a Delaware judge struck down that plan after finding Musk had undue influence over the process and the board had conflicts of interest. Kara Carlson, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025 The courts struck down both attempts, but the lengthy legal fights briefly delayed the campaign from collecting signatures. Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2025 After an Idaho trans athlete tried to have the potential landmark SCOTUS case dropped, a federal judge struck down the attempt to dismiss it and ruled that the case should proceed. Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for strike down

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of strike down was in 1779

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Strike down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strike%20down. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

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 transfersJ. J. White and R. S. Summers
especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable
the court struck down death penalty provisions L. H. Tribe

More from Merriam-Webster on strike down

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