Hammerer

ham·mer  (hmr)

n.

1. A hand tool consisting of a handle with a head of metal or other heavy rigid material that is attached at a right angle, used for striking or pounding.

2. A tool or device similar in function or action to this striking tool, as:

a. The part of a gunlock that hits the primer or firing pin or explodes the percussion cap and causes the gun to fire.

b. Music One of the padded wooden pieces of a piano that strikes the strings.

c. A part of an apparatus that strikes a gong or bell, as in a clock.

3. Anatomy See malleus.

4. Sports A metal ball weighing 16 pounds (7.2 kilograms) and having a long wire or wooden handle by which it is thrown for distance in track-and-field competition.

5. A small mallet used by auctioneers.

v. ham·mered, ham·mer·ing, ham·mers

v.tr.

1. To hit, especially repeatedly, with or as if with a hammer; pound. See Synonyms at beat.

2. To beat into a shape with or as if with a hammer: hammered out the dents in the fender; hammered out a contract acceptable to both sides.

3. To put together, fasten, or seal, particularly with nails, by hammering.

4. To force upon by constant repetition: hammered the information into the students' heads.

5.

a. To defeat soundly.

b. To inflict a heavy loss or damage on.

v.intr.

1. To deal repeated blows with or as if with a hammer; pummel: "Wind hammered at us violently in gusts" (Thor Heyerdahl).

2. To undergo beating in the manner of a hammer: My pulse hammered.

3. Informal To keep at something continuously: hammered away at the problem.

Idiom:

under the hammer

For sale at an auction.

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[Middle English hamer, from Old English hamor; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]

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hammer·er n.