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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

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”

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

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

Monique Collier, 37, a firefighter in the Washington, D.C., area, used to do 100 curls a week, but has since dropped down to 48 hammer curls once a week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The initial phase of contract talks still would have union and county representatives seeking to hammer out a mutually beneficial deal, with a presumption that both sides would negotiate in good faith.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The sale also saw 100% of the hammer price of 31 lots, which included 10 guitars, donated to two charities: The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and The National Autistic Society.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Every time the hammer hits something, it turns into a bolt of lightning.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Hammer was dropped by his agency and lost acting jobs, and he now contends he had no idea “Citizen Vigilante” would be so “disgusting.”

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

His last public appearance was at a party celebrating the opening of the Hammer Museum in 1990.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

New Yorkers associate him with Hammer Galleries, specializing in impressionism and modern art.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

But Hammer has quietly stopped pushing a 2026 timetable, say people who are in contact with him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

No one put on their best sweater or their skinny jeans to go to the Hammer.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

But now we’ve had three visits in five years, and in my head, this hammers home the point that baseball players have nothing to gain from a visit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

“You think you’re going to go there and the hammers and the screwdrivers will still be hanging on the wall?” he asked her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

At the lows during April and May 2024, the stock displayed consecutive bullish hammers along with clusters of dojis and spinning tops, in March-April 2025.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

Mr. Keller’s wearing a sharp suit, plus a tie with hammers on it.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio

Even though “housing demand is being hammered, housing supply is also weak,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

That message was hammered home Saturday for dozens of voting rights groups, community organizations and unions attending a rally to recruit and train poll watchers for the November election.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

At the meeting, Kao and Reed, the super PAC’s chair, hammered out a deal for a six-figure donation, Kao told the FBI.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Any deal would likely be hammered out ahead of time by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who meets his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng this weekend to prepare the ground.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

But time had taken a visible toll; tears in the seams hadn’t been mended, and rust coated most of the metal stakes hammered into the grass to keep it secure.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

England won only two of McCullum's final 10 Tests in charge, including the hammering in Australia.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Oil prices had plunged earlier in the week due to reports that Iran and Oman were hammering out an agreement to swiftly reopen the key energy transit channel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

After punching out the raised bell and cutting it to size, what looks like the now recognisable cymbal must undergo the all-important hammering process.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

The thud of a hammering Hulksmash rattles our seats; later, a cocked rifle is so crisp we perk up like a dog hearing the mailman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

He found a large rock he could use as an anvil base, and he pulled nails from his tool belt until he had enough to melt into a plate for a hammering surface.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• create
• forge