as in mallets
a large, heavy hammer with a long handle
broke up the concrete using a sledgehammer
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Recent Examples of sledgehammers
Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Three thieves used sledgehammers to perform a smash-and-grab at a popular Sherman Oaks mall on Wednesday evening, stealing jewelry and watches before fleeing the scene, authorities said.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Ridglan Farms said in a press release that activists attempted to enter several buildings using sledgehammers, electric saws and crowbars.
—Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 16 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
Other sufferers, however, who submitted entries to the 1983 Migraine Art Competition, depicted their pain in drawings and paintings of nails, needles, axes, ice picks, arrows, bolts, jaws, chisels, shivs, guns, red-hot spears, sledgehammers, devils, and long pins.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Investigators allege the men used sledgehammers to break the store's front door, steal almost $11,000 worth of merchandise and then use a U-Haul pickup truck to escape.
—Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026
And one night, a bunch of the editors of The Dartmouth Review descended on the shantytown protests and, with sledgehammers, slammed them down.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
Officers used sledgehammers to break through and pull them free.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
Noun
Eckert instructed the dads and sons to run a few hundred yards with kettlebells, sledgehammers, and sandbags, then to smash open the sandbags.
—Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Three thieves used sledgehammers to perform a smash-and-grab at a popular Sherman Oaks mall on Wednesday evening, stealing jewelry and watches before fleeing the scene, authorities said.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Ridglan Farms said in a press release that activists attempted to enter several buildings using sledgehammers, electric saws and crowbars.
—Quinn Clark, jsonline.com, 16 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
Other sufferers, however, who submitted entries to the 1983 Migraine Art Competition, depicted their pain in drawings and paintings of nails, needles, axes, ice picks, arrows, bolts, jaws, chisels, shivs, guns, red-hot spears, sledgehammers, devils, and long pins.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Investigators allege the men used sledgehammers to break the store's front door, steal almost $11,000 worth of merchandise and then use a U-Haul pickup truck to escape.
—Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026
And one night, a bunch of the editors of The Dartmouth Review descended on the shantytown protests and, with sledgehammers, slammed them down.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
Officers used sledgehammers to break through and pull them free.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammers
Noun
-
The hospital's public safety officers were trained to use pepper gel, batons, and handcuffs.—
Kristina Rex,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Touches of green, the color Rolex drags out for all anniversary models, adorn the watch face, specifically the Rolex logo and the five-minute markers outside the batons around the outside of the dial.—
Allen Farmelo,
Robb Report,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
These are in addition to private members clubs The Wilde and Cipriani, among other highlights.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Shane Stant clubs Kerrigan on the knee and flees the scene.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This will help the remaining canes and new stems have the room to grow more easily.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Repeating this cycle helps replace older canes with new, stronger growth.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The shower curtain opens, revealing an old woman, who stabs and decapitates Mary.—
Therie Hendrey-Seabrook,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
18 Mar. 2026
-
But this person who was a friend, who owes her career to me, just stabs me in the back.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Canty is one of the coaches who whips students into shape.—
Terell Bailey,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
When a dog repeatedly wags and whips its tail against hard surfaces, the tip can split open, bruise or break.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Premiums are poised to rise next year as the party flails on whether to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
16 Dec. 2025
-
The 16-year-old flails her arms, thrashes and kicks — sometimes for hours.—
CalMatters,
Oc Register,
5 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The proposal slashes funding to the agency’s science program by 46 percent—a cut similar to what had been proposed in the president’s budget request for the current fiscal year.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Through careful tuning of an extended Kalman filter and by taking advantage of bamboo’s natural vibration-damping properties, the system slashes control latency from 15–20 milliseconds down to just 8–10 milliseconds, enhancing responsiveness while keeping flight stable.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But the plot also retains a serial quality that saps momentum and betrays its TV roots.—
Naveen Kumar,
Variety,
21 Apr. 2026
-
But hamate surgery often saps a hitter of power, something Lindor, Carroll and Holliday were expected to supply in 2026.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammers. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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