jackhammer

noun

jack·ham·mer | \ ˈjak-ˌha-mər

Definition of jackhammer

1 : a pneumatically operated percussive rock-drilling tool usually held in the hands

2 : a device in which a tool (such as a chisel for breaking up pavements) is driven percussively by compressed air

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This was an anticlimax that wanted to be an epic—the crowd in Death Valley did its best to rowdy it up, with the on-field noise meter at one point registering a jackhammer-like 110 decibels. — Jason Gay, WSJ, "All Hail Our Alabama Football Overlords," 4 Nov. 2018 That drops the noise of an M4 down to about 130 decibels, or about that of a jackhammer. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Marines Are Equipping Hundreds of Infantrymen with Silencers," 28 Nov. 2016 Just one block north, Imperial Street ends in the dust and jackhammers of a massive municipal construction project, but a few blocks to the south and east there are signs of a new kind of urban life. — Alexandra Marshall, WSJ, "Dover Street Market Expands While Defying Retail Convention," 14 Aug. 2018 As word spread, local businessmen and their backers in Niger’s government invested in generators, jackhammers, rock grinders and dynamite. — Joe Parkinson, WSJ, "Thousands Flock to Remote, Lawless Sahara in Search of Gold," 16 Oct. 2018 Next time you phone city hall to complain about the condition of your street, officials will ship you a crate containing a small jackhammer, a shovel and a five-gallon bucket of Pot Hole Patch. — Drew Broach, NOLA.com, "How much money do Jefferson Parish officials have in their campaign accounts?," 16 Feb. 2018 The couple hired contractors to break up the concrete floor with jackhammers and install French drains beneath a new floor with a radiant heating system, which banished the indoor stream. — Tim Mckeough, New York Times, "In the Hudson Valley, a Home With Centuries’ Worth of Stories," 3 July 2018 Sixty volunteers showed up with tools and jackhammers. — Dawn Fallik, Washington Post, "What to do about lonely older men? Put them to work.," 24 June 2018 That means that instead of chisel work in the field, the paleontologists are wielding jackhammers and rock saws. — Steve Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "'Antarctic Dinosaurs' bring new ice age to Field Museum," 13 June 2018

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