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

This makes sense considering that abortion’s legal status in Wisconsin has been hotly contested since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. —Nathaniel Rakich, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2024

The conservative group’s civil rights complaint comes after the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down the consideration of race as a factor in college admissions. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024

If a President overstated the crisis, the order could be struck down in court. —Brian Bennett, TIME, 15 Oct. 2024

The election board in Cobb County asked a judge to strike down the new rules, which also include other new requirements for the ballot counting process. —Graham Kates, CBS News, 15 Oct. 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