shoot down

present singular third person shoots down · participle present shooting down · participle past shot down · past shot down

1. transitiveTo cause to fall by shooting.

   The carnival game involved shooting down tin cans.

   3 more examples

   My grandfather shot down several fighter planes in the war.

   Stop using your words as weapons / They're never gonna shoot me down / Stop, it's time that you learned a lesson / My love is gonna drown you out

   2022 November 10, Ava Max, Melanie Fontana, Michel Schulz, Ryan Tedder, Madison Love, Cirkut, “Weapons”, in Diamonds & Dancefloors, performed by Ava Max

   In China, authorities said they might soon shoot down an unidentified flying object over waters near the northern city of Rizhao, The South China Morning Post reported.

   2023 February 12, Daniel E. Slotnik, Amelia Nierenberg, “Your Monday Briefing: U.S. Destroys U.F.O.s”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2023, Briefing

2. idiomatictransitiveTo criticize (a request) to the point of preclusion.

   Every proposal I made was shot down at once.