mow down
Britishverb
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Destroy in great numbers, especially in battle, as in The machine gun mowed them down as they advanced . [Late 1500s]
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Overwhelm, as in He mowed down the opposition with his arguments . This usage, like the first, alludes to mowing , the cutting of grass with a scythe or other implement.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"But if there isn't this conversation and they are going to continue to mow down these efforts, it's really demoralising."
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
The vehicle moved during the confrontation, police said, but Kahane is not accused of trying to mow down a group of protesters.
From Seattle Times • May 8, 2024
This was where he would mow down the rest of the league with a mixture of fastballs and offspeed stuff and just brilliance.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2023
But as the monster storm began to mow down houses around them, Mr. Pacyna posted videos of the churning floodwaters sweeping away bar stools and a generator.
From New York Times • Sep. 30, 2022
Pedaling down Maxwell Street, I took care to stay away from the hansom cabs and wagons that rushed through the road as though they were racing to see who could mow down the most pedestrians.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
