shootdown
Americannoun
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the attack and destruction of an aircraft in flight.
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the shooting and killing of someone in cold blood.
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.
Basulto was flying a third plane on the day of the shootdown but was not targeted.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
It added that an Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian Yak-130 over Tehran, describing it as "the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35".
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
A Kuwaiti jet fighter was the cause of the accidental shootdown of three American F-15s on Sunday, according to people familiar with initial reports of the incident.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
The Turkish attacks and the drone shootdown are the latest source of strain in the U.S.-Turkey relationship over Kurdish groups in the region.
From Washington Times • Oct. 5, 2023
Fears about anti-aircraft fire, particularly after the 2014 shootdown of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, saw authorities around the world order their commercial airliners out.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 15, 2023
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.
