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

• 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

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

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