hammer

[ ham-er ]

/ ˈhæm ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hammer ON THESAURUS.COM

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 kg), 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.

to pound or hit forcefully: to hammer someone in the jaw.

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.

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.

Nearby words

hammam, hamman's syndrome, hamman-rich syndrome, hammarskjöld, hammarskjöld, dag, hammer, hammer and sickle, hammer and tongs, hammer away at, hammer beam, hammer blow

Idioms

under the hammer, for sale at public auction: The old estate and all its furnishings went under the hammer.

Origin of hammer

before 1000; Middle English hamer, Old English hamor; cognate with German Hammer hammer, Old Norse hamarr hammer, crag; orig. made of stone; probably akin to Russian kámen' stone

SYNONYMS FOR hammer

12, 13 knock, bang.

13 strike.

14 resolve, solve, thrash, work.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hammer ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

ham·mer·a·ble, adjectiveham·mer·er, nounham·mer·like, adjectiveout·ham·mer, verb (used with object)

re·ham·mer, verb (used with object)un·der·ham·mer, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer out

verb (tr, adverb)

to shape or remove with or as if with a hammer

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

British Dictionary definitions for hammer out (2 of 2)

hammer

/ (ˈhæmə) /

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 hammer to be offered for sale by an auctioneer

hammer and tongs with great effort or energyfighting hammer and tongs

on someone's hammer Australian and NZ 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 hammeringhis pulse was hammering

(intr often foll by away) to work at constantly

(tr) British

to question in a relentless manner
to criticize severely

informal to inflict a defeat on

(tr) slang 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

Word Origin for hammer

Old English hamor; related to Old Norse hamarr crag, Old High German hamar hammer, Old Slavonic kamy stone

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

Word Origin and History for hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer

Old English hamor "hammer," from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz (cf. Old Saxon hamur, Middle Dutch, Dutch hamer, Old High German hamar, German Hammer. The Old Norse cognate hamarr meant "stone, crag" (it's common in English place names), and suggests an original sense of "tool with a stone head," from PIE *akmen "stone, sharp stone used as a tool" (cf. Old Church Slavonic kamy, Russian kameni "stone"), from root *ak- "sharp" (see acme). Hammer and sickle as an emblem of Soviet communism attested from 1921, symbolizing industrial and agricultural labor.

Word Origin and History for hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer

late 14c., from hammer (n.). Meaning "to work (something) out laboriously" recorded from 1580s. Meaning "to defeat heavily" is from 1948. Related: Hammered; hammering. Hammered as a slang synonym for "drunk" attested by 1986.

Medicine definitions for hammer out

hammer

[ hăm′ər ]

n.

malleus

Idioms and Phrases with hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer out

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]

Idioms and Phrases with hammer out (2 of 2)

hammer

In addition to the idioms beginning with hammer

hammer and tongs
hammer away at
hammer out

also see:

under the hammer

hammer

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of hammer

British Dictionary definitions for hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer out

verb (tr, adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for hammer out (2 of 2)

hammer

noun

verb

Word Origin for hammer

Word Origin and History for hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer

Word Origin and History for hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer

Medicine definitions for hammer out

hammer

n.

Idioms and Phrases with hammer out (1 of 2)

hammer out

Idioms and Phrases with hammer out (2 of 2)

hammer