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

• abate
• abolish
• abrogate
• annul
• avoid
• cancel
• disannul
• dissolve
• invalidate
• negate
• null
• nullify
• quash
• repeal
• rescind
• roll back
• vacate
• void

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

Read More: America's Border Wall Is Bipartisan Over the next decades, other states used Prop 187 as a blueprint, recognizing that even if the laws were struck down, the process of galvanizing support for anti-immigrant measures could be politically useful. —Eladio B. Bobadilla / Made By History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024

Investors were spooked earlier this year when analysts hypothesized Musk would step away if his massive compensation package was struck down. —William Gavin, Quartz, 4 Nov. 2024

In South Dakota, voters actually legalized marijuana, 54 percent to 46 percent, in 2020 but it was struck down in court; in 2022, a second attempt failed, 53 percent to 47 percent. —Nathaniel Rakich, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2024

But a similar move by regulators at the New York Department of of Conservation is what led to the Empire State’s bag ban being struck down by the New York Supreme Court. —Patrick Gleason, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

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