hammer blow
Britishnoun
-
a blow from a hammer
-
a severe shock or setback
Liam's death was a hammer blow
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.
The pandemic delivered a hammer blow to the Fed's inflation target, with CPI peaking at 9.1 percent in mid-2022.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
But just as David feels he is finally going places, he is dealt a hammer blow from the head of the prize committee.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
The loss was another hammer blow for Tampa Bay, who have taken just one win from their last seven games to allow Carolina to edge past them in the divisional standings.
From Barron's • Dec. 21, 2025
Findlay warned that a tax rise would be a "hammer blow to Scots".
From BBC • Nov. 6, 2025
John was the biggest and the strongest, the first to land a hammer blow in the morning and the last to trudge home in the evenings.
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.
