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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In that case, the Court struck down a Nebraska law that tried to criminalize teaching children a foreign language before high school. Andrew Wimer, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025 Virtually all restrictions on an athlete transferring from one college to another have been struck down. Ryan Swanson, Sportico.com, 8 July 2025 In notable court cases, a 1981 Arkansas law mandating this was struck down as a violation of church-state separation; the Supreme Court struck down a similar Louisiana law in 1987. Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 8 July 2025 And almost certainly would be struck down in court. Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 7 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for strike down

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

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

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Cite this Entry

“Strike down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strike%20down. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

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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