shoot down

British  

verb

1. to shoot callously

2. to cause to fall to earth by hitting with a missile

3. to defeat or disprove

   he shot down her argument

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shoot down Idioms  

1. Ruin the aspirations of, disappoint, as in Bill was hoping Sharon would go out with him, but she shot him down .

2. Reject, defeat; also, expose as false. For example, It was the best idea I could come up with, but they unanimously shot it down , or It was inevitable that they would shoot down any claim made by the opposing candidate . This colloquial expression, which alludes to bringing down an aircraft or game bird by shooting, is sometimes intensified as shoot down in flames , originally (in World War I) referring to bringing down enemy aircraft but the late 1950s extended to decisively defeating anyone or anything.

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Example Sentences

It recently has been using upgraded versions of its David’s Sling system, which was designed to shoot down rockets and shorter-range ballistic missiles, to intercept bigger and longer-range varieties—with mixed results.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Gulf states appear to lack the means to affordably shoot down a lot of low-flying drones.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

It can shoot down short and medium-range ballistic missiles, using hit-to-kill technology.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

It has also sent RAF jets to the region to shoot down missiles and drones fired by Iran at UK allies.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

‘You were right, you tall, dark boy, for even as we shoot down the British soldiers we are fighting for rights such as they will be enjoying a hundred years from now. ‘

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Related Words

• cheapen
• corrupt
• debase
• degenerate
• demean
• deteriorate
• diminish
• discredit
• disgrace
• downgrade
• impair
• lessen
• reduce
• vitiate
• weaken