Translate hammer | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish Definition of hammer
noun
1a tool with a heavy metal head mounted at right angles at the end of a handle, used for jobs such as breaking things and driving in nails. a machine with a metal block for giving a heavy blow to something. an auctioneer’s mallet for indicating by a sharp tap that an article is sold. a part of a mechanism that hits another part to make it work, such as one exploding the charge in a gun or one striking the strings of a piano.
2a metal ball, typically weighing 16 pounds (7.3 kg), attached to a wire for throwing in an athletic contest. (
the hammer)
the sport of throwing a metal ball attached to a wire.
verb
[with object] 1hit or beat (something) with a hammer or similar object:they are made by heating and hammering pieces of iron [no object] strike or knock at or on something violently with one’s hand or with a hammer or other object:she hammered on his door [no object] (
hammer away)
work hard and persistently:for six months I have been hammering away at a plot [with object] drive or secure (something) by striking with or as if with a hammer:he hammered the tack in he was hammering leather soles onto a pair of small boots (
hammer something in/into)
instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) forcefully or repeatedly:the “diversity is good” message is hammered into them
2 informal attack or criticize forcefully and relentlessly:he got hammered for an honest mistake utterly defeat in a game or contest:they hammered St. Louis 6-0
Phrasal Verbs
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1make something by shaping metal with a hammer.
2laboriously work out the details of a plan or agreement:a deal was being hammered out with the Dutch museums
3play a tune loudly or clumsily, especially on the piano.
Derivatives
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noun -
adjective
