scream down

scream down

1. To overwhelm someone into silence or submission by shouting or loudly criticizing; to drown out another person by screaming. A noun or pronoun can be used between "scream" and "down." Protestors screamed down the police officer when he began telling them to disperse. I tried to speak up in support of the proposal, but everyone else screamed me down.

2. To shriek or shout loudly or fiercely on one's end of a line of communication. The air traffic controller screamed down the radio for the pilot to pull up. We could hear her screaming down the telephone at the bank manager.

3. To fly or plummet from the sky at great speed. The plane came screaming down to the ground after both its engines failed. The bullets screamed down from the guard tower on the rioting prisoners below.

See also: down, scream

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

scream someone down

to scream loudly at someone; to outscream someone. (Compare this with shout someone down.) The angry crowd screamed down the politician. They screamed her down and drove her from the platform.

See also: down, scream

scream down (on someone or something)

Fig. [for something, such as birds or bombs] to dive down on someone or something, with a loud noise or very swiftly. The bombs screamed down on the helpless peasants. As the bombs screamed down, some people ran and some prayed.

See also: down, scream

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.