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.
Just 12 years later, the Norsemen administered another hammer blow to English soccer’s fragile psyche, overcoming the Three Lions 2-0 in a 1993 qualifying game that contributed to England missing the 1994 World Cup entirely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
That news is a hammer blow for them.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
Clark said the injury was a "hammer blow" for 29-year-old Cameron, whose lone All Blacks appearance came against Japan in 2018.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 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 cold was ferocious, a hammer blow that nearly forced the air out of his lungs.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
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.
