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hammer
1[ ham-er ]
noun
- a tool consisting of a solid head, usually of metal, set crosswise on a handle, used for beating metals, driving nails, etc.
- any of various instruments or devices resembling this in form, action, or use, as a gavel, a mallet for playing the xylophone, or a lever that strikes the bell in a doorbell.
- Firearms. the part of a lock that by its fall or action causes the discharge, as by exploding the percussion cap or striking the primer or firing pin; the cock.
- one of the padded levers by which the strings of a piano are struck.
- Track. a metal ball, usually weighing 16 pounds (7.3 kilograms), attached to a steel wire at the end of which is a grip, for throwing for distance in the hammer throw.
- Anatomy. the malleus.
verb (used with object)
- to beat or drive (a nail, peg, etc.) with a hammer.
- to fasten by using hammer and nails; nail (often followed by down, up, etc.):
We spent the day hammering up announcements on fences and trees.
- to assemble or build with a hammer and nails (often followed by together ):
He hammered together a small crate.
- to shape or ornament (metal or a metal object) by controlled and repeated blows of a hammer; beat out:
to hammer brass; to hammer a brass bowl.
- to form, construct, or make with or as if with a hammer; build by repeated, vigorous, or strenuous effort (often followed by out or together ):
to hammer out an agreement; to hammer together a plot.
- to produce with or by force (often followed by out ):
to hammer out a tune on the piano; to hammer a home run.
Synonyms: ,
- to pound or hit forcefully:
to hammer someone in the jaw.
Synonyms: , ,
- to settle (a strong disagreement, argument, etc.); bring to an end, as by strenuous or repeated effort (usually followed by out ):
They hammered out their differences over a glass of beer.
Synonyms: , , ,
- to present (points in an argument, an idea, etc.) forcefully or compellingly; state strongly, aggressively, and effectively (often followed by home ).
- to impress (something) as if by hammer blows:
You'll have to hammer the rules into his head.
- British.
- (in the London stock exchange) to dismiss (a person) from membership because of default.
- to depress the price of (a stock).
verb (used without object)
- to strike blows with or as if with a hammer.
- to make persistent or laborious attempts to finish or perfect something (sometimes followed by away ):
He hammered away at his speech for days.
- to reiterate; emphasize by repetition (often followed by away ):
The teacher hammered away at the multiplication tables.
Hammer
2[ ham-er ]
noun
- Armand, 1898–1990, U.S. businessman and art patron.
hammer
/ ˈæə /
noun
- a hand tool consisting of a heavy usually steel head held transversely on the end of a handle, used for driving in nails, beating metal, etc
- any tool or device with a similar function, such as the moving part of a door knocker, the striking head on a bell, etc
- a power-driven striking tool, esp one used in forging. A pneumatic hammer delivers a repeated blow from a pneumatic ram, a drop hammer uses the energy of a falling weight
- a part of a gunlock that rotates about a fulcrum to strike the primer or percussion cap, either directly or via a firing pin
- athletics
- a heavy metal ball attached to a flexible wire: thrown in competitions
- the event or sport of throwing the hammer
- an auctioneer's gavel
- a device on a piano that is made to strike a string or group of strings causing them to vibrate
- anatomy the nontechnical name for malleus
- curling the last stone thrown in an end
- go under the hammer or come under the hammerto be offered for sale by an auctioneer
- hammer and tongswith great effort or energy
fighting hammer and tongs
- on someone's hammer slang.
- persistently demanding and critical of someone
- in hot pursuit of someone
verb
- to strike or beat (a nail, wood, etc) with or as if with a hammer
- tr to shape or fashion with or as if with a hammer
- tr; foll by in or into to impress or force (facts, ideas, etc) into (someone) through constant repetition
- intr to feel or sound like hammering
his pulse was hammering
- introften foll byaway to work at constantly
- tr
- to question in a relentless manner
- to criticize severely
- informal.to inflict a defeat on
- slang.tr to beat, punish, or chastise
- tr stock exchange
- to announce the default of (a member)
- to cause prices of (securities, the market, etc) to fall by bearish selling
Derived Forms
- ˈ-ˌ, adjective
- ˈ, noun
Other Word Forms
- m·· adjective
- m· noun
- m· adjective
- dzܳhm verb (used with object)
- ·m verb (used with object)
- ܲd·m noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of hammer1
Word History and Origins
Origin of hammer1
Idioms and Phrases
- under the hammer, for sale at public auction:
The old estate and all its furnishings went under the hammer.
More idioms and phrases containing hammer
- under the hammer
Example Sentences
Utility back Helena Rowland, who is named on the bench on Saturday, made one start at fly-half against Italy, while Aitchison was picked to start at 10 in last Saturday's hammering of Scotland.
The movie seems to recoil from its own hammering dramatics, with Bryce Dessner’s score toggling uneasily between jocular blues and dour, overcompensating strings.
Scrum-half Natasha Hunt comes back into the starting XV to partner Harrison, with Lucy Packer named on the bench after impressing from the start in the hammering of Scotland last Saturday.
Paul Leighton is packing his rucksack with a heavy-duty hammer, pry bar and evidence bags for what he describes as "just an average day out".
After coach JJ Redick challenged his team to meet Minnesota’s intensity and physicality, the teams ripped and reached and held and hammered while they played like each possession would determine who won and lost.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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