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Synonyms

hammer out

British  

verb

  1. to shape or remove with or as if with a hammer

  2. to form or produce (an agreement, plan, etc) after much discussion or dispute

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hammer out Idioms  

  1. Work out with considerable effort, as in It took weeks of negotiations to hammer out an acceptable compromise. This usage likens intellectual effort to shaping metal with the blows of a hammer. [Mid-1700s]

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.

The meeting is likely meant to hammer out economic achievements to be announced at the leaders' summit, Fudan University professor Wu Xinbo told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

And so Scott’s major recent step has been to hire a financial planner to help them hammer out their final retirement plans.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 2026

The work I’m doing right now is so wonderful, but I’m just buzzing with the need to sit in one place for two months and hammer out a draft.

From Salon • Jan. 14, 2026

Which is yet another reason why the NFL wants to hammer out a deal and avoid a work stoppage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

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.