1
as in drawing
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 hitting
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
hammer a nail hammered the ball for a home run
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3
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
tried hammering the door to wake them up the crops were hammered with hail
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4
as in scolding
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pounding
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hammering
Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Graham Averill, Outside, 16 Sep. 2025
When the wind finally let up on Sunday and the gates officially opened, burners began pouring into the city just as hammering rain began.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
Russian drones have been hammering Ukrainian cities for years.
—Joseph Nepomuceno, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
Leading Internet companies and publishers—including Reddit, Yahoo, Quora, Medium, The Daily Beast, Fastly, and more—think there may finally be a solution to end AI crawlers hammering websites to scrape content without permission or compensation.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2025
Across the aisle, Democrats are hammering those arguments with warnings that the nation’s public health officials should focus on science, not politics, or a public health crisis will be the inevitable result.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 10 Sep. 2025
Fewer than 10% of workers in this country are members of unions, and that number continues to drop as the current administration spends our tax dollars hammering federal workers.
—Jimmy Williams Jr, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
The right-hander’s outing started ominously, with Jurickson Profar hammering the third pitch of the game 350 feet over the right-field wall for a 1-0 lead.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025
If workers will be jack-hammering your front walk or moving soil with a front-loader, the neighbors will take notice.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
Verb
Leeds’ 1-0 win against Everton at Elland Road was followed by a 5-0 hammering at the Emirates and a stalemate against Newcastle.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
Gateway is designed for hammering fast laps, with a gravel road climbing to the top of a ridge that provides access to the downhill singletrack.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 16 Sep. 2025
When the wind finally let up on Sunday and the gates officially opened, burners began pouring into the city just as hammering rain began.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
Russian drones have been hammering Ukrainian cities for years.
—Joseph Nepomuceno, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
Leading Internet companies and publishers—including Reddit, Yahoo, Quora, Medium, The Daily Beast, Fastly, and more—think there may finally be a solution to end AI crawlers hammering websites to scrape content without permission or compensation.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2025
Across the aisle, Democrats are hammering those arguments with warnings that the nation’s public health officials should focus on science, not politics, or a public health crisis will be the inevitable result.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 10 Sep. 2025
Fewer than 10% of workers in this country are members of unions, and that number continues to drop as the current administration spends our tax dollars hammering federal workers.
—Jimmy Williams Jr, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
The right-hander’s outing started ominously, with Jurickson Profar hammering the third pitch of the game 350 feet over the right-field wall for a 1-0 lead.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025
If workers will be jack-hammering your front walk or moving soil with a front-loader, the neighbors will take notice.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammering
Verb
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Such action by Russia, either intentional or accidental, has raised the risk of widening the war by drawing other countries directly into the conflict.—
Matt Spetalnick,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Charlotte's Democratic Mayor Vi Lyles initially emphasized the suspect's mental health over the victim, drawing fierce criticism.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Sep. 2025
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Smith stretched as far as his body would allow, inadvertently hitting the splits in the process.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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One end of the spectrum are stress fracture, which are very small, often described as hairline fractures that result from repetitive force and pounding to the bone over time.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
It’s typed with such pounding despair and fury that certain letters of the alphabet actually tear through the paper (this was an old, manual typewriter).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Luka was placed on heavy sedation, but even that wasn't enough to stop his heavy thrashing.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
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Barcelona’s thrashing of Alhama was the match with the most interventions (12) and the only game in which there were no challenges was Athletic Club’s goalless draw with CD Tenerife.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Told in two timelines, Letters to Kafka explores her role as an active resistance fighter in Czechoslovakia after the Nazis annexed the country in 1938, and her life in Vienna from 1918 to 1925, forging her own path separate from her husband, and Kafka.—
Christine Estima
September 12,
Literary Hub,
12 Sep. 2025
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Her son Cedric Von Ferdinand, who was her caretaker, has since been slapped with dozens of fraud charges for allegedly assigning himself her power of attorney and forging signatures, among other offenses, according to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
People.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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All we were focused on was just containing him, knocking the pocket back, just trying to keep him in the pocket, and forcing the football.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
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No texts, no phone calls, no IMs—just walking over to their house, knocking on the door, and hanging out together?—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That could look like gliding your fingers down them, kissing, licking, or gently biting those areas.—
Essence,
Essence,
11 Sep. 2025
-
In the video, the sound of Bambi's stomping, licking, meowing and general everyday life has delighted viewers.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This is the last organization that should be lecturing anyone about respecting the game.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
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Faculty across the state rebuked it as an infringement on academic freedom and warned of a mass chilling effect on free speech and lecturing on divisive topics.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hammering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammering. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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