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.
He posted it on social media just as U.S. negotiators led by Vice President JD Vance were meeting with Iranian counterparts 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
But first, he needs to hammer out a common stance between the parliament's different factions, which looked set to keep haggling until the last moment.
From Barron's ● May 19, 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
“So, I’ve got my mom’s car, and I was wondering if maybe we could do WaHo after school? Then we can hammer out the plans, and I can drive you home afterward.”
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
