Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Hammer

//ˈhæm.ɚ// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A surname.

Noun

1
A tool with a heavy head and a handle used for pounding.
"Bobby used a hammer and nails to fix the two planks together"
2
someone connected with West Ham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
3
the act of pounding (delivering repeated heavy blows) wordnet
4
The act of using a hammer to hit something.
"The nail is too loose—give it a hammer."
5
a hand tool with a heavy rigid head and a handle; used to deliver an impulsive force by striking wordnet

Show 17 more definitions

6
The malleus, a small bone of the middle ear.
7
a power tool for drilling rocks wordnet
8
In a piano or dulcimer, a piece of wood covered in felt that strikes the string.
"The sound the piano makes comes from the hammers striking the strings"
9
a striker that is covered in felt and that causes the piano strings to vibrate wordnet
10
A device made of a heavy steel ball attached to a length of wire, and used for throwing.
11
the part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled wordnet
12
The last stone in an end.
13
a heavy metal sphere attached to a flexible wire; used in the hammer throw wordnet
14
A frisbee throw in which the disc is held upside-down with a forehand grip and thrown forwards above the head.
15
a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike such percussion instruments as chimes, kettledrums, marimbas, glockenspiels, etc. wordnet
16
Part of a clock that strikes upon a bell to indicate the hour.
17
the ossicle attached to the eardrum wordnet
18
One who, or that which, smites or shatters.
"St. Augustine was the hammer of heresies."
19
Ellipsis of hammer headline. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"Hammers are, in essence, reverse kickers. Instead of being set in smaller type like kickers, hammers are set in larger type than headlines."
20
The accelerator pedal.
"We is headin' for bear on I-one-oh 'Bout a mile outta Shaky Town. I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck And I'm about to put the hammer down.""
21
A moving part of a firearm that strikes the firing pin to discharge a gun.
"But the Englishman was close to him—so close that his hand reached the leveled barrel a fraction of a second before the hammer fell upon the cartridge, and the bullet that was intended for Tarzan’s heart whirred harmlessly above his head."
22
A handgun. broadly, slang
"Another one of my peoples came to me with a plan. "Yo, man, I need to get some money. I need to borrow that hammer." So I gave him my nickel-plated .357 with a wooden handle, and off he went to stand by the weed spot."

Verb

1
To strike repeatedly with a hammer, some other implement, the fist, etc.
"Tony hammered on the door to try to get him to open."
2
beat with or as if with a hammer wordnet
3
To form or forge with a hammer; to shape by beating.
"hammered money"
4
create by hammering wordnet
5
To emphasize a point repeatedly. figuratively

Show 8 more definitions

6
To hit particularly hard. usually
"This time the defender was teed up by Andrew Johnson's short free-kick on the edge of the box and Baird hammered his low drive beyond Begovic's outstretched left arm and into the bottom corner, doubling his goal tally for the season and stunning the home crowd."
7
To ride very fast. intransitive, slang
"Fifteen minutes later, leaving a vapour trail of kitchen smells, I hammered into Obterre."
8
To strike internally, as if hit by a hammer. intransitive
"I could hear the engine’s valves hammering once the timing rod was thrown."
9
To defeat (a person, a team) resoundingly. figuratively, slang, transitive
"We hammered them 5-0!"
10
To make high demands on (a system or service). slang, transitive
"So we'll be hammering the server in an unrealistic manner, but we'll see how the additional clients affect overall performance. We'll add two, three, four, and then five clients, […]"
11
To declare (a person) a defaulter on the stock exchange. transitive
12
To beat down the price of (a stock), or depress (a market). transitive
13
To have hard sex with. colloquial, transitive
"A short time later I’ve got Lissie in bed. I’m really going after it, really hammering her."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English hamer, from Old English hamor, from Proto-West Germanic *hamar, from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz (“tool with a stone head”) (compare West Frisian hammer, Low German Hamer, Dutch hamer, German Hammer, Danish hammer, Swedish hammare). This is traditionally ascribed to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱmoros, from *h₂éḱmō (“stone”), but see *hamaraz for further discussion. (declare a defaulter on the stock exchange): Originally signalled by knocking with a wooden mallet.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Shortened West Ham + -er, with a pun on hammer.

Etymology 4

Shortened West Ham + -er, with a pun on hammer.

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: hammer