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Definition of "shootdown" [shootdown]

  • Destruction of a flying aircraft by a missile attack or gunfire. (noun)
  • An instance of such destruction. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "shootdown" in a sentence
  • "Championship tonight); indictment of Cuban MiG pilots and Air Force chief in shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996; and more."
  • "In October 1994 another joint team interviewed two other Vietnamese citizens who recalled the shootdown and the burial of the remains of a pilot nearby."
  • "You see, I believe the vice president conducted a de facto coup on 9/11 when he ordered the "shootdown" of civilian planes."