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

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 In a 6-to-3 vote in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law that banned sports betting in most states. Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 8 Mar. 2024 Courts struck down many of former President Donald Trump’s policies that tried to limit immigration. Jean Lantz Reisz, The Conversation, 8 Mar. 2024 In January, a Delaware state court judge struck down Musk’s $56 billion Tesla CEO pay package from 2018 that cemented his place as the world’s richest person. Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 The meetings come after the U.S. Supreme Court last summer dealt Biden a major political blow, striking down the initial plan for mass student loan forgiveness the White House sought during the pandemic, which relied on Biden's executive authority to take action during a national emergency. Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 Yet the efforts fall short of the president's proposal for more sweeping student loan cancellation -- as much as $20,000 in relief per borrower -- that was struck down last year by the U.S. Supreme Court. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 22 Feb. 2024 Project ideas were proposed and struck down throughout the 1970s until the current model was overwhelmingly passed in 1979 to begin construction on a freeway, underpass and park all-in-one. Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 That court struck down part of Kacsmaryk’s ruling a few days later, allowing mifepristone to remain on the market with certain restrictions. Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2024 In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision, struck down a massive $430 billion student loan forgiveness program initiated by the Biden administration, ruling the program vastly exceeded the authority Congress delegated to the executive branch. Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'strike down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of strike down was in 1779

Dictionary Entries Near strike down

Cite this Entry

“Strike down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strike%20down. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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 transfersJ. J. White and R. S. Summers
especially : to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable
the court struck down death penalty provisions L. H. Tribe

More from Merriam-Webster on strike down

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