ball-peen hammer

noun \ ˈbȯl-ˈpēn- \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Definition of ball-peen hammer

: a hammer having a hemispherical peen at one end of its head

Recent Examples of ball-peen hammer from the Web

And second: How many of the ball-peen hammers sold are bought specifically in order to inflict such violence?

— christopher orr, The Atlantic, "You Were Never Really Here Is Never Really Here," 13 Apr. 2018
Hold the chisel with your thumb and index finger (as shown), place the edge on the metal, and strike it with a ball-peen hammer.

— roy berendson, Popular Mechanics, "How To Use a Cold Chisel," 27 Apr. 2018
His usual smash-and-grab rescue involves a ball-peen hammer (easy to pocket, inexpensive, untraceable), a stranger’s fractured skull and a traumatized child carried away on his meaty shoulder.

— colin covert, Detroit Free Press, "Review: Joaquin Phoenix stunning in ‘Never Really Here’," 19 Apr. 2018
This is the issue as the grunters, hold the ropers, chop the wooders, culture clubbers would just as soon be hit repeatedly by a ball-peen hammer than not play football in the fall.

— scott springer, Cincinnati.com, "Springer: Switch the high school seasons?," 14 Apr. 2018
Joe's weapon of choice is a ball-peen hammer—the same kind of tool that his father used on Joe and his mother.

— leah pickett, Chicago Reader, "You Were Never Really Here updates Taxi Driver to an even colder urban landscape," 12 Apr. 2018
Armed with his weapon of choice, a ball-peen hammer, Joe gets the job done with a swiftness and efficiency that find an echo in Ramsay's filmmaking.

— justin chang, latimes.com, "Joaquin Phoenix descends into a hellish New York underworld in the haunting 'You Were Never Really Here'," 5 Apr. 2018
Buy a center punch and strike it with a ball-peen hammer.

— roy berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, "So You Have a Cordless Drill—Here's What Else You Need," 5 Feb. 2014
Wailing away at an aluminum painting support with a ball-peen hammer to dent and dimple the surface before hitting it with lacquer and polyester resin paints might not seem like the best idea.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "Billy Al Bengston 'Dento' paintings at Parrasch Heijnen: Life through reflected light," 9 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ball-peen hammer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.