as in mallet
a large, heavy hammer with a long handle
broke up the concrete using a sledgehammer
Related Words
Relevance
as in heavy-handed
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in to cane
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Gustavo Rivera, New York Daily News, 10 Mar. 2026
Wearing hooded sweatshirts and full-face masks, the robbers ordered employees to one part of the room at gunpoint before two of them smashed the glass display cases with sledgehammers, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
—Nick Sullivan
march 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 Mar. 2026
Bethany Rodgers, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Sep. 2021
The Academy Award winner quickly turned into a sledgehammer pro, getting involved in breaking through walls and ripping out fixtures.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 9 July 2021
Christian Clark, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 2020
The suit stemmed from a May 10, 2019, incident in which police sledgehammered the front gate of his Outer Richmond home, held him in handcuffs for hours and seized his phone, computers and other equipment.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
Nearly 70 years ago, Robert Moses took a sledgehammer to the Bronx, severing New York City’s only mainland borough and poisoning our neighborhoods for his Cross Bronx Expressway.
—Gustavo Rivera, New York Daily News, 10 Mar. 2026
Wearing hooded sweatshirts and full-face masks, the robbers ordered employees to one part of the room at gunpoint before two of them smashed the glass display cases with sledgehammers, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
—Nick Sullivan
march 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
And Sundwall said that, in retrospect, state health officials took a sledgehammer approach to mitigating the pandemic, such as school closings in 2020, when the state could have taken a more surgical tack.
—Bethany Rodgers, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Sep. 2021
The Academy Award winner quickly turned into a sledgehammer pro, getting involved in breaking through walls and ripping out fixtures.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 9 July 2021
Verb
The move means the 7-foot Kiwi will be under contract for the next three seasons and signals that at a time when the game is becoming increasingly perimeter-oriented, the Pelicans will try to sledgehammer their way to wins.
—Christian Clark, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 2020
The suit stemmed from a May 10, 2019, incident in which police sledgehammered the front gate of his Outer Richmond home, held him in handcuffs for hours and seized his phone, computers and other equipment.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
If your grocery store does not have cutlets readily available, use regular chicken breasts and slice them in half, then use a mallet to flatten them lightly.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Using a large mallet, the magician hammers the automaton, played in the film by a real-life human actor, into smaller and smaller sizes.—
G. Allen Johnson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But several lawmakers on the committee expressed interest in taking a less-heavy-handed approach to the drug, which is sold in gas stations and smoke shops.—
Angela Palermo,
Idaho Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The 40th precinct’s heavy-handed crowd control outside the rink deepened resentment.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Visuals also showed some people receiving CPR. Uncontrollable crowd Police started caning people at one gate, leading to more chaos, said Mithun Singh, a software engineer among the crowd.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
5 June 2025
-
Both failed to fire, and the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, with a hair-trigger temper, began caning the would-be assassin.—
Barbara A. Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Suspect also accused in carjacking A felony complaint filed in Mount Vernon alleges Grier's boyfriend, 28-year-old Joveair Brice, beat her with a hammer, causing her death.—
Tony Aiello,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Now 130 subpoenas hammer anyone who ever probed him, while half of the Epstein files stay conveniently buried.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Cooper was obsessed with the New World Order and the actions of jackbooted government enforcers against the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and white separatist Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.—
Andrew Stuttaford,
WSJ,
19 Sep. 2018
-
Likethumb_up Replyreply Linklink Copy Reportflag eraley 22 minutes ago Trump’s America and his jackbooted thugs.—
Marwa Eltagouri,
Washington Post,
28 May 2018
Verb
-
Muhammad later returned to the restaurant with a knife and mask and allegedly stabbed Harris, according to police.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Officers arrived and found the stabbing victim, later identified as Freas.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
San Diego Symphony musicians will perform the opera’s score under the baton of conductor Louis Lohraseb, who is making his company debut.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The video shows officers used Tasers again and struck him with batons, but Runyen in the video said both were ineffective.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Unger, who lives in Clearwater, has a reputation for solid stand-alone thrillers that have landed on bestseller lists, with unusual plots and unconventional motives shrouded in dark-but-not-oppressive atmospheres.—
Oline H. Cogdill,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Brown, who later became a successful commercial novelist, found the movie literally oppressive.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
