hammer out

verb

hammered out; hammering out; hammers out

transitive verb

: to produce or bring about as if by repeated blows
hammered out an agreement

Examples of hammer out in a Sentence

the city council hammered out new commercial development regulations with input from residents, business owners, and environmental activists
Recent Examples on the Web In January, conflicting factions within the state party hammered out a compromise resolution calling for a lasting humanitarian cease-fire. Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 12 Mar. 2024 The actual state budget probably won’t be hammered out until the final hours of the legislative session, which is set to adjourn March 9 — but could drag out longer if the House and the Senate can’t agree on the spending plan. Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2024 The deal was hammered out Tuesday, according to the district’s labor negotiations webpage. Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 10 Feb. 2024 Crucially, Hamas has not yet signed onto this possible framework and any possible final deal is still, at the earliest, days away as negotiators continue to hammer out the actual details. Rob Picheta, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024 Last week, ahead of the pledging session, police and justice officials from Haiti met with a Kenya delegation in Washington, D.C. along with individuals from the State Department and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to hammer out some of the concerns. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2024 Trial in the case is currently set for the end of May, and the parties are scheduled to meet next week in Ft. Pierce, Florida, to hammer out potential details for future proceedings. Robert Legare, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2024 Osama Hamdan said Hamas is reviewing the framework hammered out by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 As for Taiwan, the superpowers could do worse than to dust off their old promise, hammered out by Kissinger, to agree to disagree. Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hammer out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1632, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hammer out was circa 1632

Dictionary Entries Near hammer out

Cite this Entry

“Hammer out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hammer%20out. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hammer out

verb
: to produce or bring about by persistent effort
hammered out an agreement

More from Merriam-Webster on hammer out

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