Shoot down means to bring down an aircraft, drone or missile by firing at it, or to reject someone's idea or suggestion quickly and firmly. The second meaning is informal: an idea gets shot down fast, with almost no discussion.
Want to use shoot down in conversation?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
shoot down + plane/drone; shoot down + idea/plan; shoot it down; get shot down
- I suggested a four-day week, but my manager shot the idea down in seconds.
- Every plan I share in the group chat gets shot down by Max.
- The army said it had shot down two drones near the border.
What changed
First versionMy boss liked the plan at first, but then he shot down it.
RevisionMy boss liked the plan at first, but then he shot it down.
When the object is a pronoun such as it, him or them, it goes between shoot and down: shot it down. A noun can also come after the particle: shot down the plan. The correction moves it to the right place.
A pedestrian or cyclist hit by a car is knocked down or run over: A car knocked him down outside the school. Shoot is about firing a gun, so shot down about a person sounds as if they were shot.
Your turn
I suggested working from home on Fridays, but my manager ___ the idea in the first minute.
Show the answer
shot down — The manager rejected the suggestion straight away, so shot down fits. Shot up means “rose sharply” (Prices shot up), which doesn't work with an idea.
Describe a time when someone rejected a suggestion you made. Say what you suggested and who was against it.
When I suggested a weekend hike, my brother shot the idea down because he wanted to watch football.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.