Definition of "shoot down"

shoot down

verb
third-person singular simple present shoots down, present participle shooting down, simple past and past participle shot down
1. (transitive) To cause to fall by shooting.
  Quotations
  Stop using your words as weapons / They're never gonna shoot me down / Stop, it's time that you learned a lesson / My love is gonna drown you out
  2022 November 10, Ava Max, Melanie Fontana, Michel Schulz, Ryan Tedder, Madison Love, Cirkut, “Weapons”, in Diamonds & Dancefloors‎, performed by Ava Max
  In China, authorities said they might soon shoot down an unidentified flying object over waters near the northern city of Rizhao, The South China Morning Post reported.
  2023 February 12, Daniel E. Slotnik, Amelia Nierenberg, “Your Monday Briefing: U.S. Destroys U.F.O.s”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 13 February 2023, Briefing
2. (transitive, idiomatic) To criticize a (request) to the point of preclusion.