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I UK [ˈhæmə(r)] / US [ˈhæmər] noun [countable]
Word forms "hammer":
singular hammer plural hammers

1) a tool used for hitting things or forcing nails into wood that consists of a handle and a heavy metal top with one flat side

He smashed a hole in the window with a hammer.

take a hammer to something (= hit something hard using a hammer):

She took a hammer to the headlamps of his car.

2)

a) a heavy metal ball fixed to a chain and thrown as a sport

b) the hammer a sports event in which people throw a hammer as far as they can

3) the part of a gun that pushes against the bullet to make the explosion when you pull the trigger with your finger

4) a part in a piano that hits the strings to make a sound

5) medical the malleus in the ear

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come/go under the hammer — to be sold at an auction (= a public sale in which objects are sold to the person who offers the most money)

- hammer and tongs

II UK [ˈhæmə(r)] / US [ˈhæmər] verb
Word forms "hammer":
present tense I/you/we/they hammer he/she/it hammers present participle hammering past tense hammered past participle hammered

1)

a) [intransitive/transitive] to hit something with a hammer

Hammer the pegs into the wooden flooring.

Someone was hammering in the cellar.

b) to hit something hard or many times

hammer on/at/into:

Some of the patients were shouting and hammering on the walls.

Owen hammered the ball into the back of the net.

2) [transitive] informal to defeat an opponent easily

3) [transitive] informal to criticize someone or something severely

Her latest film was hammered by the critics.

4) [intransitive] informal if rain hammers down, a lot of it falls with great force

5) [intransitive] informal to move or travel very fast

Drivers hammer along this road all day.

6) [intransitive] if your heart hammers, it has a strong fast beat, especially because you are afraid or nervous

Phrasal verbs:

- hammer away at

- hammer into

- hammer out

See:

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