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
-
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
Verb
-
Shane Stant clubs Kerrigan on the knee and flees the scene.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
The suspect pounces on Ennin while the victim is down and stabs him multiple times before running off.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
-
After Fiona confesses to killing Willem, a raging Constance stabs Dahlia.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Or whips around his defender in a bold pirouette.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Marty whips off his sport coat and throws it in the crowd.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Dec. 2025
Verb
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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
-
At some point, Alice slashes the tires on Rachel’s car.—
Sam Reed,
Glamour,
9 Jan. 2026
-
There, Constance slashes her face with a knife.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Dec. 2025
Verb
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An overreliance on tools weakens our civilization (and saps the film’s dramatic thrills).—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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Cast and crew are emotionally invested in the urgency of the material, but the bland competency of the whole affair saps it of power.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammers. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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