1
as in drawing
to shape with a hammer
medieval artisans hammered brass into various bowls and trays, which they then embossed with elaborate designs
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2
as in hitting
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
hammer a nail hammered the ball for a home run
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3
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
tried hammering the door to wake them up the crops were hammered with hail
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4
as in scolding
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
the critics have long been hammering the stage actress for resorting to the same mixed bag of mannerisms over and over
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pounding
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hammering
Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Graham Averill, Outside, 16 Sep. 2025
When the wind finally let up on Sunday and the gates officially opened, burners began pouring into the city just as hammering rain began.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
Russian drones have been hammering Ukrainian cities for years.
—Joseph Nepomuceno, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
Leading Internet companies and publishers—including Reddit, Yahoo, Quora, Medium, The Daily Beast, Fastly, and more—think there may finally be a solution to end AI crawlers hammering websites to scrape content without permission or compensation.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2025
Across the aisle, Democrats are hammering those arguments with warnings that the nation’s public health officials should focus on science, not politics, or a public health crisis will be the inevitable result.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 10 Sep. 2025
Fewer than 10% of workers in this country are members of unions, and that number continues to drop as the current administration spends our tax dollars hammering federal workers.
—Jimmy Williams Jr, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
The right-hander’s outing started ominously, with Jurickson Profar hammering the third pitch of the game 350 feet over the right-field wall for a 1-0 lead.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025
If workers will be jack-hammering your front walk or moving soil with a front-loader, the neighbors will take notice.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
Verb
Leeds’ 1-0 win against Everton at Elland Road was followed by a 5-0 hammering at the Emirates and a stalemate against Newcastle.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
Gateway is designed for hammering fast laps, with a gravel road climbing to the top of a ridge that provides access to the downhill singletrack.
—Graham Averill, Outside, 16 Sep. 2025
When the wind finally let up on Sunday and the gates officially opened, burners began pouring into the city just as hammering rain began.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
Russian drones have been hammering Ukrainian cities for years.
—Joseph Nepomuceno, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
Leading Internet companies and publishers—including Reddit, Yahoo, Quora, Medium, The Daily Beast, Fastly, and more—think there may finally be a solution to end AI crawlers hammering websites to scrape content without permission or compensation.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2025
Across the aisle, Democrats are hammering those arguments with warnings that the nation’s public health officials should focus on science, not politics, or a public health crisis will be the inevitable result.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 10 Sep. 2025
Fewer than 10% of workers in this country are members of unions, and that number continues to drop as the current administration spends our tax dollars hammering federal workers.
—Jimmy Williams Jr, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
The right-hander’s outing started ominously, with Jurickson Profar hammering the third pitch of the game 350 feet over the right-field wall for a 1-0 lead.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025
If workers will be jack-hammering your front walk or moving soil with a front-loader, the neighbors will take notice.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammering
Verb
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His funeral is not only a personal farewell but a political moment, drawing attention to the ideological battles shaping the 2024 election cycle and beyond.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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These temperate, food-rich waters are a buffet for Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, drawing them in to chase down mullet, menhaden, and other small fish.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Vaquer secured the pinfall after hitting a spiral tap.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
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The Rockies, who snapped a five-game losing streak and won for just the second time in their last 13 games, won via timely hitting and stellar work by the bullpen.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Israeli forces control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and in recent days have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas, from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western areas where most of the population is sheltering.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
19 Sep. 2025
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Moments later, blue strobes flashed, warped guitar rang out and pounding drums clanged.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The 5-1 thrashing of West Ham in between followed up a 3-0 win at the London Stadium last season.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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Luka was placed on heavy sedation, but even that wasn't enough to stop his heavy thrashing.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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On the front lines of what Glassdoor chief economist Daniel Zhao describes as an ongoing burnout crisis, millennial managers are forging new models of empathy and flexibility, but often at significant personal cost.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
20 Sep. 2025
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Washington has so far thwarted Beijing’s ambitions to dominate the Indo-Pacific by forging alliances and partnerships in the region.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Soon after, Helena Rubinstein came knocking, asking him to design a capsule collection to accompany a new makeup line.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
19 Sep. 2025
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And the department didn’t discipline deputies who were captured on video knocking a man unconscious.—
Christopher Damien,
USA Today,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Without enough physical or mental stimulation, licking can become a way to pass the time.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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As the credits roll, audiences see several Hashiras navigating the creepy castle while licking their wounds.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hammering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammering. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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