haymaker
Americannoun
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a person or machine that cuts hay and spreads it to dry.
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Slang. a punch delivered with great force, especially one that results in a knockout.
noun
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a person who helps to cut, turn, toss, spread, or carry hay
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Also called: hay conditioner. either of two machines, one designed to crush stems of hay, the other to break and bend them, in order to cause more rapid and even drying
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slang boxing a wild swinging punch
Other Word Forms
- haymaking adjective
Etymology
Origin of haymaker
1400–50; 1910–15 haymaker for def. 2; late Middle English heymakere. See hay, maker
Explanation
A haymaker is either a farm worker who harvests grasses and dries them for animal feed, or a machine that does the same job mechanically. After cutting, drying, and curing, a haymaker bales the hay, rolling it into bundles that can easily be moved and stored. The entire process is known as "making hay" or "haymaking." The most old-fashioned way to do this work is by hand, swinging a long, sharp scythe to cut the tall grass. This wide, swinging motion led to a figurative meaning of haymaker, a boxer's strong blow, also known as a "haymaker punch."
Vocabulary lists containing haymaker
You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 4
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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.
She said Jackson was not the aggressor and had not thrown a "haymaker".
From BBC • Jan. 10, 2025
But then comes the real haymaker: Not only is Apple unfairly messing with apps like WhatsApp, but with anyone who sends texts from non-iPhones, period.
From Slate • Mar. 21, 2024
Then, just as you’re getting settled, along comes the haymaker of Episode 6.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2023
Even Mumford doesn’t know enough superlatives to describe the vocal haymaker Lennox threw during Carlile’s encore.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 10, 2023
I thought it was a decent punch, nothing special, just something to give me more room to operate, but the metal monster shrieked in pain and staggered back like I’d landed a haymaker.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
