shoot down

shoot (someone, something, or an animal) down

to bring down someone, something, or an animal by gunfire. Fred shot Mike down in the street. They shot down the plane.

See also: shoot

shoot something down

Fig. to foil a plan through criticism; to counter an idea with criticism. (Based on shoot someone, something, or an animal down.) He raised a good point, but the others shot him down almost immediately. Liz shot down Jeff's best idea.

See also: shoot

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shoot down something also shoot something down

1. to destroy an aircraft or weapon in the sky by shooting it In the movie, he pulls out a portable rocket launcher and shoots down the helicopter. If we detect an incoming missile, we must be able to shoot it down.

2. to refuse to accept something The baseball owners shot down a plan to add two more teams to each league. At a public meeting, residents shot down two different designs for rebuilding the area.

See also: shoot