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triphammer

or trip ham·mer

[trip-ham-er]
noun
  1. Machinery. a heavy hammer raised and then let fall by means of some tripping device, as a cam.
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adjective
  1. of, resembling, or characteristic of the repetitive and forceful pounding of a triphammer: He was subjected to triphammer interrogation by the police detectives.
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Origin of triphammer

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; trip1 + hammer
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for triphammer

Historical Examples of triphammer

  • Then he stood upon it, his heart pounding like a triphammer.

    Tom Slade on a Transport

    Percy Keese Fitzhugh

  • The lad's heart beat like a triphammer as he entered the tavern once more.

    The Black Buccaneer

    Stephen W. Meader

  • But I could have as soon succeeded in pulling it from beneath a triphammer.

  • Her heart was beating like a triphammer,—she felt strangely weak in the knees.

    West Wind Drift

    George Barr McCutcheon

  • Its underside buckled from triphammer contact with rock slides and a few larger logs.

    Fly By Night

    Arthur Dekker Savage

British Dictionary definitions for triphammer

triphammer

noun
  1. a power hammer that is raised or tilted by a cam and allowed to fall under gravity
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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