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
Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
Other times, the group used sledgehammers to smash cases of jewelry or other valuables in consignment stores.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
Three years later, thieves, armed with sledgehammers, stole it in an audacious five-minute heist from Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s historic birthplace in the English countryside.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
Other times, the group used sledgehammers to smash cases of jewelry or other valuables in consignment stores.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammers
Noun
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By Monday afternoon, the unrest had spread to the northeastern city of Mashhad, where demonstrators gathered in central squares and clashed with riot police who moved in with batons.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
30 Dec. 2025
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Dozens of agents swarmed the area along with a military vehicle, Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, told USA TODAY, saying agents used batons and mace on demonstrators.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To rejuvenate an older plant, cut 50 to 75% of the oldest, thickest canes back to the ground to allow for new shoots to develop.—
Rita Pelczar,
Better Homes & Gardens,
27 Dec. 2025
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Wait until mid-to-late November to remove dead or diseased canes and reduce the overall size of the rose plant.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Alex breaks free and, in a panic, repeatedly stabs Evelyn with the syringe.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Sep. 2025
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Spike takes one of Kelson's tranquilizer darts filled with morphine and stabs Samson in the arm with it.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The wind whips across the peak, marked as per usual around here with a pile of stones and colorful prayer flags tied to the top like sails on the mast of a ship.—
Joe Baur,
Outside,
31 Oct. 2025
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In the video, Campos whips her long hair in disbelief.—
Christina Noriega,
Refinery29,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The results come as Merck slashes $3 billion in costs by the end of 2027, and prepares to offset revenue losses from the upcoming patent expiration of Keytruda in 2028.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
30 Oct. 2025
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Mogollon Monster The Mogollon Monster is Arizona's Bigfoot, a legendary creature said to inhabit the Mogollon Rim, a rugged and densely forested area that slashes across the state.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Internal resistance from the membrane’s structure saps additional efficiency.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
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Tariffs are taxes on production, government spending is a tax on progress, deportation saps workforce productivity, and the weak dollar (see the gold price) is a tax on investment.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The scene then switches to Casey sitting in front of her two daughters.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 2026
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While the typical way to make cinnamon rolls from the tube involves simply placing each roll on a baking sheet with a few inches in between, this method switches things up, starting with a casserole dish.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
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After her mani-pedi was complete, and the beautician had given her a coffee per usual, the pair were going to move on to brows and lashes when the woman asked to use the bathroom.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
28 Dec. 2025
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In a scene based on a real incident that crystallized some of the public’s reaction to Bardot at the time, a cleaning lady lashes out at the star’s character in an elevator, angry over her promiscuity while the maid’s brother is fighting in the Algerian War.—
Lee Smith,
CNN Money,
28 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammers. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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