strike down

Related to strike down: strike off, striking a pose

strike down

1. Literally, to knock someone or something down with a heavy blow. A noun or pronoun can be used between "strike" and "down." The speeding car struck the cyclist down. A huge lightning bolt struck the cedar tree down.
2. To kill someone in tragic circumstances, typically those beyond human control. A noun or pronoun can be used between "strike" and "down." He was struck down by cancer when he was only 42 years old. Let God strike me down if I'm lying!
3. To reject, cancel, annul, invalidate, or render ineffective. A noun or pronoun can be used between "strike" and "down." The courts struck the law down, declaring it to be unconstitutional. The board of directors struck down our proposal for a new business based in Canada.
See also: down, strike
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

strike someone or something down

to knock someone or something down by striking. Max struck Lefty down with one blow. He struck down the weeds with a scythe.
See also: down, strike

strike something down

[for a court] to invalidate a ruling or law. The higher court struck the ruling of the lower court down. The court struck down the ruling.
See also: down, strike
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

strike down

1. Fell with a blow or misfortune, as in The tree was struck down by lightning, or He was struck down by tuberculosis while in his twenties. [Late 1400s]
2. Render ineffective, cancel, especially in a legal context. For example, The appeals court struck down the verdict. [Late 1800s]
See also: down, strike
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

strike down

v.
1. To cause someone or something to fall by a blow: Boxing experts are predicting that the champion will strike down the contender in the third round. I grabbed a wrench and struck the intruder down with a blow to the head.
2. To incapacitate or kill someone. Used chiefly in the passive: Hundreds of civilians were struck down during the first week of the war. Smokers need to realize that heart disease can strike them down in the prime of their lives.
3. To render something ineffective; cancel something: The committee struck down the proposal we've worked so hard on, so we'll have to start all over again. The Supreme Court determined that the law was unconstitutional and struck it down accordingly.
See also: down, strike
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • bear down
  • ask down
  • call down
  • clean down
  • chow down
  • chow something down
  • clunk
  • clunk down
  • brush down
  • button down
References in periodicals archive
In 1981, the Court did not strike down any federal statutory provisions, the first such occasion since the 1940s.
But where Rehnquist joined the majority to strike down laws in only seven of those cases, Brennan joined nineteen.
Constitutional cases were routinely decided by five-or six-justice majorities, whether the legislation was the product of the national or state legislature and whether the outcome was to strike down or uphold legislation.
The liberals on the Court were still the most likely to vote to strike down legislation and were still quite likely to appear in the majority in a case invalidating statutory provisions (and the least likely to appear in majorities upholding statutes against constitutional challenge).
(85) A distinctly conservative invalidation of state law made an appearance in another minority set-aside case, (86) but more often than not a unified liberal wing of the Court joined hands with one or more conservatives (usually Kennedy and O'Connor) to strike down state laws.
The least activist Supreme Court in history? The Roberts Court and the exercise of judicial review
If the Supreme Court fails to strike down McCain-Feingold in its fall session, we can expect a stepped-up regulatory assault on free speech in America.
Almost constitutional? (The Last Word)
The court continued to strike down important legislative acts in the late 1920s into the 1930s.
Muted Fury: Populists, Progressives, and Labor Unions Confront the Courts, 1890-1937
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, who was heading the bench, asked Naek three questions Whether the SC can strike down a law, if the parliament is not competent to do so; whether the SC can strike down a law, when it will be violative of fundamental rights and whether the SC can strike down a law if it conflicts with other constitution provisions.
SC can't 'read in' or 'read out' the Constitution, says Naek
He prayed the court to declare the law as completely in conflict with the constitution and strike down.
The Chief Justice remarked that it was important that the largest body of lawyers (Pakistan Bat Council) was seeking orders to strike down the law.
Pakistan Bar Council asks SC to strike down contempt law
And although the court's liberals have joined conservatives in some of their most controversial rulings, like overturning the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, even Clint Bolick's Institute for Justice has admitted that the court's conservatives are more inclined to strike down both federal and state laws than Clinton's two appointees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.
One man's activist: what Republicans really mean when they condemn judicial activism
Supreme Court Chief Justice Antonio Lamer shocked many this winter by an admission that he voted to strike down Canada's existing abortion law in the Morgentaler ruling of 1988 because he thought that this was what the public wanted.
Chief Justice (Antonio Lamer) shocks Canada: the rule of opinion polls
Jaffree (1985): The high court voted 6-3 to strike down an Alabama law requiring public schools to set aside a moment of silence for meditation or prayer.
Protecting the 'inviolable citadel of the heart': the Supreme Court's decisions on religion and public schools
"To strike down RFRA would be a judicial revolution," says the law professor.
Historic decision