strike someone when they are down

verb

Synonym of kick someone when they are down (“make things worse for someone in a difficult position”).

Similar
kick someone when they are downhit someone when they are down
First used 17th c.
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Meanings

verbstrike someone when they are down (third-person singular simple present strikes someone when they are down, present participle striking someone when they are down, simple past and past participle struck someone when they were down)

present singular third person strikes someone when they are down · participle present striking someone when they are down · participle past struck someone when they were down · past struck someone when they were down

  1. idiomaticSynonym of kick someone when they are down (“make things worse for someone in a difficult position”).First known use 17th c.

    but he was already so doubly overthrown by two Learned Opposers, that it seem'd unhandsome and ignoble to strike a man when he was down; his Circumstances making him rather an Object of Pity than Victory.

    1665, John Sergeant, Sure Footing in Christianity, or rational discourses on the rule of faith

    Synonyms: kick someone when they are down, kick someone when they are down, hit someone when they are down

Synonyms & antonyms

verbSynonym of kick someone when they are down (“make things worse for someone in a difficult position”).

Similar
kick someone when they are downkick someone when they are downhit someone when they are down
Also see
aggravatecompoundhit someone when they are downkick someone when they are downmake matters worserub salt in the wound
Cite this entry
APA

strike someone when they are down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strike%20someone%20when%20they%20are%20down

MLA

“strike someone when they are down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strike%20someone%20when%20they%20are%20down. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “strike someone when they are down,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strike%20someone%20when%20they%20are%20down.

Source: strike someone when they are down on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.