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• hammer
  hammer

  noun

  a tool consisting of a solid head, usually of metal, set crosswise on a handle, used for beating metals, driving nails, etc.
• Hammer
  Hammer

  noun

  Armand, 1898–1990, U.S. businessman and art patron.

hammer

¹ American  

[ham-er] / ˈhæm ər /

noun

• hammers
  plural

1. a tool consisting of a solid head, usually of metal, set crosswise on a handle, used for beating metals, driving nails, etc.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. one of the padded levers by which the strings of a piano are struck.

5. 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.

6. Anatomy. the malleus.

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verb (used with object)

• hammers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hammered,
  past participle,  past
• hammering
  present participle

1. to beat or drive (a nail, peg, etc.) with a hammer.

2. 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.

3. to assemble or build with a hammer and nails (often followed bytogether ).

   He hammered together a small crate.

4. 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.

5. to form, construct, or make with or as if with a hammer; build by repeated, vigorous, or strenuous effort (often followed by out ortogether ).

   to hammer out an agreement; to hammer together a plot.

6. to produce with or by force (often followed byout ).

   to hammer out a tune on the piano; to hammer a home run.

   Synonyms:

   bang, knock

7. to pound or hit forcefully.

   to hammer someone in the jaw.

   Synonyms:

   strike, bang, knock

8. to settle (a strong disagreement, argument, etc.); bring to an end, as by strenuous or repeated effort (usually followed byout ).

   They hammered out their differences over a glass of beer.

   Synonyms:

   work out, thrash out, solve, resolve

9. to present (points in an argument, an idea, etc.) forcefully or compellingly; state strongly, aggressively, and effectively (often followed byhome ).

10. to impress (something) as if by hammer blows.

    You'll have to hammer the rules into his head.

11. British.

    1. (in the London stock exchange) to dismiss (a person) from membership because of default.

    2. to depress the price of (a stock).

verb (used without object)

• hammers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hammered,
  past participle,  past
• hammering
  present participle

1. to strike blows with or as if with a hammer.

2. to make persistent or laborious attempts to finish or perfect something (sometimes followed byaway ).

   He hammered away at his speech for days.

3. to reiterate; emphasize by repetition (often followed byaway ).

   The teacher hammered away at the multiplication tables.

idioms

1. under the hammer, for sale at public auction.

   The old estate and all its furnishings went under the hammer.

Hammer ² American  

[ham-er] / ˈhæm ər /

noun

1. Armand, 1898–1990, U.S. businessman and art patron.

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hammer British  

/ ˈhæmə /

noun

1. 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

2. any tool or device with a similar function, such as the moving part of a door knocker, the striking head on a bell, etc

3. 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

4. a part of a gunlock that rotates about a fulcrum to strike the primer or percussion cap, either directly or via a firing pin

5. athletics

   1. a heavy metal ball attached to a flexible wire: thrown in competitions

   2. the event or sport of throwing the hammer

6. an auctioneer's gavel

7. a device on a piano that is made to strike a string or group of strings causing them to vibrate

8. anatomy the nontechnical name for malleus

9. curling the last stone thrown in an end

10. to be offered for sale by an auctioneer

11. with great effort or energy

    fighting hammer and tongs

12. slang

    1. persistently demanding and critical of someone

    2. in hot pursuit of someone

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verb

1. to strike or beat (a nail, wood, etc) with or as if with a hammer

2. (tr) to shape or fashion with or as if with a hammer

3. (tr; foll by in or into) to impress or force (facts, ideas, etc) into (someone) through constant repetition

4. (intr) to feel or sound like hammering

   his pulse was hammering

5. to work at constantly

6. (tr)

   1. to question in a relentless manner

   2. to criticize severely

7. informal to inflict a defeat on

8. slang (tr) to beat, punish, or chastise

9. (tr) stock exchange

   1. to announce the default of (a member)

   2. to cause prices of (securities, the market, etc) to fall by bearish selling

hammer More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing hammer

• under the hammer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hammerer
  noun
• underhammer
  noun
• outhammer
  verb (used with object)
• rehammer
  verb (used with object)
• hammer-like
  adjective
• hammerable
  adjective
• hammerlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hammers
  plural

Participles

• hammering
  present
• hammered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hammer
  simple
• hammers
  simple
• have hammered
  perfect
• has hammered
  perfect
• am hammering
  progressive
• are hammering
  progressive
• is hammering
  progressive
• have been hammering
  perfect progressive
• has been hammering
  perfect progressive

Past

• hammered
  simple
• had hammered
  perfect
• was hammering
  progressive
• were hammering
  progressive
• had been hammering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hammer
  simple
• will have hammered
  perfect
• will be hammering
  progressive
• will have been hammering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of hammer

First recorded before 1000; Middle English hamer, Old English hamor; cognate with German Hammer “hammer,” Old Norse hamarr “hammer, crag”; originally, a stone weapon; probably akin to Russian kámen' “stone”

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Explanation

A hammer is a tool you can use to drive nails into wood or other materials. You'll find a hammer in just about any toolbox, since it's useful for hanging pictures, making repairs, or breaking things apart. When you hit a nail again and again with a hammer, you hammer it. Other kinds of hammers include the part of a gun that swings forcefully when the trigger is pulled; the padded striker in a piano that hits a string when a note is played; and a Marvel Comics supervillain whose partner in crime is named Anvil. There's also the hammerhead shark, named for the odd, hammer-like shape of its head.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hammer Hammer hammers hammered hammering

Ukrainian soldiers had used a hammer and chisel to break through the concrete in the middle and dug out a small shelter just big enough for two people in the earth beneath.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Leaders at the two-day Montreal meeting will try to hammer out specifics for closer ties in areas including defense, artificial intelligence and critical minerals.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

Possessing a Roger Federer-style one-handed backhand, and a Thor-inspired hammer celebration, Balshaw announced his arrival in some style.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

He was a hammer meeting a nail, traveling to the run down parts of towns all over America to shore things up — to entertain rather than win over audiences.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

I grab the stepladder, as well as a hammer and a nail or two.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

McGee has exhibited at the Hammer Museum, Fondazione Prada and the 2001 Venice Biennale.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

A Hammer Museum retrospective unpacks the once L.A.-based artist’s remarkable legacy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

He does this by making short videos for YouTuber and podcaster Caleb Hammer, who is best known for hosting a show called Financial Audit, which analyses the personal finances of his guests.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Alongside its longstanding classroom-in-residence program, in which fourth- through sixth-grade classes spend a week at the museum, the Hammer piloted its classroom partnership program under Ryan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Helmuth and Rudi head north toward the local police station at Hammer Deich 57.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Recovery is well underway, with the sounds of hammers, saws and nail guns ringing through the air.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

In the background, hammers and saws can be heard creating escape routes through the destruction.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Some years later a cat keyboard emerged, featuring keys that activated hammers to which pins were attached.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The rhythmic clanging of hammers on bronze echoes through the Istanbul workshop where three craftsmen are landing blows with astonishing precision to transform featureless metal discs into highly prized handcrafted cymbals.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Prose becomes stuffy when an insecure writer hammers the reader over the head with redundant indicators of a connection, as if unsure that one would be enough.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Rampant Australia racked up the biggest score in international history as they hammered Wales in a Rugby League World Cup mismatch.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Many of the top technology stocks, which seemed almost unstoppable for months, got hammered this week as fears grew that massive spending on artificial intelligence won’t pay off anytime soon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

The details would be hammered out back in Washington, the people said.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

This is up from 4.3% last quarter, which marked the slowest growth since 2022, when the Covid-19 pandemic hammered the Chinese economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Koffi's heart hammered in her chest as she spun around, eyes searching the grounds of the Night Zoo until she found who she was looking for.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Data-center provider CoreWeave’s share and bond selloff brought credit risks into focus, hammering stocks across the AI supply chain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Tech firms took a hammering on Tuesday amid concerns about China's progress in developing AI chips and following comments by Broadcom's boss likening the AI buying frenzy to gambling.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

After a tough start, last week's win over the Buffalo Bills was a huge confidence boost for the New England Patriots, as they showed with a 45-17 hammering of the Las Vegas Raiders.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

The two sides spent months hammering out the details.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

He’s careful, doing as little hammering as possible, and when he’s done, I can’t tell that his wall is not the wall of our attic.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

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Related Words

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