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.

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.

Origin of triphammer

1
An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; trip1 + hammer

Words Nearby triphammer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use triphammer in a sentence

  • Geraldine's heart beat like a little triphammer, but she did not look up from her plate, nor change her listless expression.

    In Apple-Blossom Time | Clara Louise Burnham
  • She had lifted her gaze to meet his, quite sure that her answer was not in doubt, but now her heart was beating like a triphammer.

    Mavericks | William MacLeod Raine
  • When intoxicated, his tongue rapped out fun and fury like a triphammer.

  • Frank's heart was beating like a triphammer and his nerves were at a fearful tension.

  • The fiddler twisted and turned, but his head went like a triphammer on the seat.

    Baddeck and That Sort of Thing | Charles Dudley Warner

British Dictionary definitions for triphammer

triphammer

/ (ˈtrɪpˌhæmə) /


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

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