1
as in to draw
to shape with a hammer
medieval artisans hammered brass into various bowls and trays, which they then embossed with elaborate designs
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to hit
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
hammer a nail hammered the ball for a home run
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to pound
to strike repeatedly
tried hammering the door to wake them up the crops were hammered with hail
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
the critics have long been hammering the stage actress for resorting to the same mixed bag of mannerisms over and over
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hammer
Chaewon Chung
updated January 30, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The lottery is obviously still unpredictable, if last year’s results weren’t enough to hammer that point home.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2026
Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The teen accused of supporting ISIS and planning a hammer and knife attack in Charlotte around New Year’s Eve pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday.
—Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hammer
Verb
Salmon runs have gotten hammered, and even our hatchery runs in the Sacramento Valley are negatively affected by flow conditions in the Sacramento River.
—Chaewon Chung
updated January 30, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The lottery is obviously still unpredictable, if last year’s results weren’t enough to hammer that point home.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
The regulatory hammer is flexing on financials.
—Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The teen accused of supporting ISIS and planning a hammer and knife attack in Charlotte around New Year’s Eve pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday.
—Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammer
Verb
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The attack drew condemnation from the wider international community, including the United States, Russia and the European Union.—
MUNIR AHMED,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The Florida Lottery site states game add-ons include Double Play for $1, a bonus drawing where players could win up to $250,000 using the same numbers (Double Play drawings are held immediately after Florida Lotto drawings).—
Lianna Norman,
Florida Times-Union,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On Thursday afternoon, the elderly driver first hit a bicyclist, then continued for about a block before crashing her 2023 Mercedes Benz C class into the bakery section of the grocery store, trapping multiple people beneath her car, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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Nvidia now expects its total sales to hit new records in 2026, projecting around $500 billion in revenue.—
Rosa de Acosta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Getting ahead and staying ahead The key, for all of the Rockies pitchers, said, is to pound the zone, get ahead in the count and finish the job.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Court documents say when the officers tried to leave, Catlett pounded on the hood and kicked the side door of their car.—
Ashley Grams,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Young kids paddled near the shallow edges and bigger kids jumped off the cliffs above the swimming hole, causing the adults to gasp and scold.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
4 Feb. 2026
-
During the trip, the priest who was showing them around was scolded.—
McKinley Franklin,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
An elderly couple in Arlington Heights was recovering after flames engulfed their garage on Wednesday morning, and a neighbor came to the disabled woman's rescue with a sledgehammer.—
Victor Jacobo,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
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So, the team was able to rescue Joey by navigating through the icy water in a kayak; a sledgehammer and an ax were used to break the ice.—
Brooke Muckerman,
Memphis Commercial Appeal,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Fiction is the amalgam that allows disparate elements to forge a whole.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
-
But without a finished 10th novel to work from (Gabaldon is currently in progress on her final Outlander volume, called A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out), Roberts and team had to toe a fine line between honoring the essence of the book series and forging their own path forward.—
Amy Wilkinson,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The memo, which the AP reported is being used to train new officers amid an aggressive expansion of immigration arrests, has fueled confusion and fear about what rights actually apply when ICE comes knocking.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Feb. 2026
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The former is a ring on the bottom of the rock that skids across the ice, and the latter is a band around the sides of the rock that collides with other rocks (ideally knocking an opponent’s rock off the bull’s-eye or nudging your team’s closer to it).—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Mitch West, meanwhile, was licking his wounds on Monday night, when snow still hadn’t touched down in his region of South Carolina.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
-
England’s Test team are still licking their wounds after their humbling Down Under.—
Sam Dalling,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammer. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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