slap down

verb

slapped down; slapping down; slaps down

transitive verb

1

: to prohibit or restrain usually abruptly and with censure from acting in a specified way : squelch

2

: to put an abrupt stop to : suppress

Synonyms

• clamp down (on)
• crack down (on)
• crush
• put down
• quash
• quell
• repress
• silence
• snuff (out)
• squash
• squelch
• subdue
• suppress

Examples of slap down in a Sentence

public protests against the dictatorial government were always promptly slapped down

Recent Examples on the Web

Whether or not that played into the Board of Medicine’s actions, the body slapped down the Settlement Agreement and offered a Counter Settlement Agreement, which Simmons accepted. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2025

Biden didn’t respond to those demands directly, leaving it to Schumer and Jeffries to slap down Trump’s debt-limit demand. —Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 24 Dec. 2024

Recent examples of people acting out of this same humble presumption—and being slapped down for it—are abundant. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024

And that suggests his Justice Department will be less excited about slapping down the border initiatives championed by Abbott since the day Biden sent the former president packing. —John C. Moritz, Austin American-Statesman, 11 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 1