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.
Stock futures were falling on Sunday after tensions flared up between the U.S. and Iran even as the two sides met in Switzerland to hammer out a permanent peace deal.
From Barron's • Jun. 21, 2026
Stock futures were falling on Sunday after tensions flared up between the U.S. and Iran even as the two sides met in Switzerland to hammer out a permanent peace deal.
From Barron's • Jun. 21, 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
Beijing’s top trade envoy, Liu He, engaged in roughly a dozen rounds of negotiations with Washington, often with large delegations, to hammer out a pact.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
The details of a $45 million trade more or less agreed upon in February 2007 took several months to hammer out, and the trade didn’t go through until early May.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
