strike down

strike down idiom
  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]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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