shoot down

verb

shot down; shooting down; shoots down

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

• deride
• gibe
• jibe
• jeer
• laugh (at)
• mock
• ridicule
• scout
• skewer

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

Just last week, Mr. Biden told two campaign audiences that after being shot down during World War II, his uncle might have been eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea. —Peter Baker, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2024

It’s been a decade since Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by Russian separatists. —Ryan Erik King / Jalopnik, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024

Video shows the moment Iran's air defense shot down several mini quadcopters near Isfahan. —Koh Ewe, TIME, 19 Apr. 2024

It is not known how many of the systems have been provided and deployed, but Russian technology could turn Iran into a far more formidable adversary, with an enhanced ability to shoot down planes and missiles, the officials and experts said. —Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024

Trout gave the Angels a 2-1 lead with his seventh homer, a 111.1-mph, 420-foot shot down the left-field line off Phil Maton (0-1). —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

What happened? More than 300 projectiles were launched overnight from Iran and proxy locations in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, 99% of which were shot down, according to Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. —Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024

One missile was shot down near Erbil, Iraq, by U.S. forces who suspected it was headed toward Israel. —Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 15 Apr. 2024

Pinkas also told us Iran had deliberately telegraphed details of the strike and knew most of the missiles and drones could be shot down, allowing Iran a shock-and-awe spectacle with minimal damage that Israel can choose to walk away from. —CBS News, 14 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 1