hammer out
Britishverb
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to shape or remove with or as if with a hammer
-
to form or produce (an agreement, plan, etc) after much discussion or dispute
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lebanon and Israel were meeting in Washington on Tuesday to hammer out a path to ending the conflict.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
The White House is racing to hammer out policies while the tech world and moral authorities chime in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Iran, Britain, France, Russia, and China—to hammer out the 157 pages of the nuclear deal back in 2015.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026
The signing will kick off a 60-day period in which Iran and the United States will try to hammer out a full-scale peace deal, including the thorny issue of Iran's nuclear program.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Axel races across the room, flings open the basement door, all the while his stomach fills with woodpeckers all trying to hammer out of him.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
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.
