under the hammer

Idioms  

1. For sale, as in These paintings and Oriental rugs must come under the hammer if we're to pay the mortgage. This expression alludes to the auctioneer's hammer, which is rapped to indicate a completed transaction. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

under the hammer

Pele’s 1958 World Cup jersey goes under the hammer.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

The costume, which was one of three originals made, went under the hammer at an online auction on Monday at Auctioneum Ltd in Bristol.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

He searched the archives of an auction in 1940 where part of the looted Goudstikker collection went under the hammer and found item number 92: "Portrait of a Young Girl" by Toon Kelder.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

The collection goes under the hammer at Ewbank's Auctions in Woking on 26 February with an upper guide price of £10,500.

From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2026

Then taking a box of caps from his pocket, he raised the hammer of the gun and slipped one of the little bright caps over the hollow pin that was under the hammer.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder