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
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
Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2025
The suspects used a sledgehammer to break a window.
—Craig Shoup, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
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
Adjective
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
Verb
The men bashed the plane’s windows with a sledgehammer and sprayed the wreckage with a hose and fire extinguisher while multiple other neighbors called for help.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2025
The suspects used a sledgehammer to break a window.
—Craig Shoup, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
They’re placed on or next to the body and struck with a mallet to release a calming vibration and mellifluous tone that eases muscles, sparking an immediately soothing effect on the nervous system and improving synaptic responses in the brain.—
Terry Elward,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Wasuwan probed her model’s back and shoulders with a long bamboo stick, then tapped a block with a mallet on her stomach, producing a look of agonized bliss.—
Sarah Larson,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The heavy-handed sentimentality is a welcome, necessary respite.—
James Grebey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Bolsonaro's allies view Moraes' handling of the trial and broader crackdown on disinformation in Brazil as heavy-handed.—
Júlia Dias Carneiro,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
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
-
Rookie Jihaad Campbell already resembles an NFL hammer who can team up with Zack Baun, an All-Pro at linebacker last year.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Who composes a symphony with a hammer?—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Sep. 2025
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
-
Late last month, Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a train in North Carolina.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Instead, 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack while riding a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train home from work.—
Peter D'Abrosca , Stepheny Price , Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Under the baton of Conductor Laureate Christopher Warren-Green, the Charlotte Symphony will be joined by Sphinx Virtuosi, the chamber orchestra of the Sphinx Organization, a national non-profit organization based in Detroit.—
Liz Rothaus Bertrand,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Reuters reported that police used water cannons, batons, rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Its pace is slow — occasionally, but rarely, to its detriment — but this clearly deliberate tempo gives you the chance to shoulder the burdens of its oppressive atmosphere and settle into its many puzzles, which regularly trade logic for personal interpretation, and occasionally just vibes.—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
This process includes questioning the logics and myths that uphold the status quo and calling out oppression as part of the struggle toward an anti-oppressive future.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share