shoot down

verb

shot down; shooting down; shoots down
Synonyms of shoot downnext

transitive verb

1
: to cause to fall by shooting
shot down the helicopter
especially : to kill in this way
was shot down in cold blood
2
: to put an end to : defeat, reject
shoot down legislation
3
: deflate, ridicule
4
: discredit sense 2
shoot down a theory

Synonyms of shoot down

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Examples of shoot down in a Sentence

nowadays the aging activist is routinely shot down in most quarters of the media and dismissed as an irrelevant crank every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members
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.
The ministry also said that Russian forces shot down at least 475 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning. — David Brennan, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the military shot down just one of those Russian missiles. — Tom Bowman, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026 Russia launched 136 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv's air force said, 117 of which were shot down or intercepted. — CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026 As their captors sought cover, the terrified children were ordered to stay and shoot down the jets over the capital, Khartoum. — Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shoot down

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shoot down was in 1657

Rhymes for shoot down

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Browse Nearby Words

shoot dead
shoot down
shootee
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Cite this Entry

“Shoot down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoot%20down. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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