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hammer

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hammer¹

  • /ˈhæmə/ UK
  • /ˈhamə/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈhæmɚ/ US
  • /ˈhaməɾ/ Scotland

Rhymes with -æmə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English hamer, from Old English hamor, from Proto-West Germanic *hamar, from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz (“tool with a stone head”) (compare West Frisian hammer, Low German Hamer, Dutch hamer, German Hammer, Danish hammer, Swedish hammare). This is traditionally ascribed to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱmoros, from *h₂éḱmō (“stone”), but see *hamaraz for further discussion.

(declare a defaulter on the stock exchange): Originally signalled by knocking with a wooden mallet.

noun hammers

  1. A tool with a heavy head and a handle used for pounding. Bobby used a hammer and nails to fix the two planks together.
  2. The act of using a hammer to hit something. The nail is too loose—give it a hammer.
  3. The malleus, a small bone of the middle ear.
  4. In a piano or dulcimer, a piece of wood covered in felt that strikes the string. The sound the piano makes comes from the hammers striking the strings
  5. A device made of a heavy steel ball attached to a length of wire, and used for throwing.
  6. The last stone in an end.
  7. A frisbee throw in which the disc is held upside-down with a forehand grip and thrown forwards above the head.
  8. Part of a clock that strikes upon a bell to indicate the hour.
  9. One who, or that which, smites or shatters. St. Augustine was the hammer of heresies.
  10. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of hammer headline Hammers are, in essence, reverse kickers. Instead of being set in smaller type like kickers, hammers are set in larger type than headlines.
  11. The accelerator pedal. We is headin' for bear on I-one-oh 'Bout a mile outta Shaky Town. I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck And I'm about to put the hammer down."
  12. A moving part of a firearm that strikes the firing pin to discharge a gun. But the Englishman was close to him—so close that his hand reached the leveled barrel a fraction of a second before the hammer fell upon the cartridge, and the bullet that was intended for Tarzan’s heart whirred harmlessly above his head.
  13. broadly, slang A handgun. Another one of my peoples came to me with a plan. "Yo, man, I need to get some money. I need to borrow that hammer." So I gave him my nickel-plated .357 with a wooden handle, and off he went to stand by the weed spot.

verb hammers · hammering · hammered

  1. To strike repeatedly with a hammer, some other implement, the fist, etc. Tony hammered on the door to try to get him to open.
  2. To form or forge with a hammer; to shape by beating. hammered money
  3. figuratively To emphasize a point repeatedly.
  4. usually To hit particularly hard. This time the defender was teed up by Andrew Johnson's short free-kick on the edge of the box and Baird hammered his low drive beyond Begovic's outstretched left arm and into the bottom corner, doubling his goal tally for the season and stunning the home crowd.
  5. intransitive, slang To ride very fast. Fifteen minutes later, leaving a vapour trail of kitchen smells, I hammered into Obterre.
  6. intransitive To strike internally, as if hit by a hammer. I could hear the engine’s valves hammering once the timing rod was thrown.
  7. figuratively, slang, transitive To defeat (a person, a team) resoundingly. We hammered them 5-0!
  8. slang, transitive To make high demands on (a system or service). So we'll be hammering the server in an unrealistic manner, but we'll see how the additional clients affect overall performance. We'll add two, three, four, and then five clients, […]
  9. transitive To declare (a person) a defaulter on the stock exchange.
  10. transitive To beat down the price of (a stock), or depress (a market).
  11. colloquial, transitive To have hard sex with. A short time later I’ve got Lissie in bed. I’m really going after it, really hammering her.

    Similar: pound, smash

  12. To overcook (something).

Hammer²

Where it comes from

Shortened West Ham + -er, with a pun on hammer.

noun Hammers

  1. someone connected with West Ham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.

proper noun

  1. A surname. In the [David] Azerrad essay that [Josh] Hammer cited, Azerrad explains that Trump’s strength is “not that of a soldier who risks his life in combat or of a general who leads men into battle.”

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: forge, pounding, hammer throw, pound, malleus, gavel, power hammer, sledgehammer, mallet, peen, sledge, sword, firewood, harness, tap, kevel

Translations

Every language

noun piano part

Españolmartinete
Portuguêsmartelo
DeutschHammer
Ελληνικάπλήκτρο plíktro
Русскиймолото́чек molotóček

noun frisbee throwing style

Kiswahilinyundo

noun tool

Españolmartillo
한국어망치 mangchi, 해머 haemeo
日本語金槌 kanazuchi, 槌 tsuchi, ハンマー hanmā
中文錘子 /锤子 chuízi, 榔頭 /榔头 lángtou
हिन्दीहथौड़ा hathauṛā
Kiswahilinyundo
Portuguêsmartelo
Françaismarteau
DeutschHammer
Italianomartello
Ελληνικάσφυρί sfyrí
Românăciocan
Русскиймо́лот mólot, молото́к molotók
Tiếng Việtbúa
العربيةمِطْرَقَة miṭraqa, شَاكُوش šākūš
עבריתפַּטִּישׁ patísh

noun bone of the middle ear — see also malleus

Españolmartillo
한국어추골 chugol
日本語槌骨 tsuchikotsu
中文錘骨 /锤骨 chuígǔ
Kiswahilinyundo
Portuguêsmartelo
Françaismalléus, marteau
DeutschHammer, Malleus
Ελληνικάσφύρα sfýra
Românăciocan
Русскиймолото́чек molotóček
العربيةمِطْرَقَة miṭraqa

noun sports: device

한국어해머 haemeo
日本語ハンマー hanmā
Portuguêsmartelo
DeutschHammer
Русскиймо́лот mólot

noun curling: last rock in an end

Kiswahilinyundo

noun part of a clock

DeutschHammer

noun part of a firearm

Españolpercutor, percusor
Kiswahilinyundo
Portuguêspercussor, cão
Françaischien
DeutschSchlagstück, Hahn, Schlaghebel
Italianocane, percussore
Ελληνικάεπικρουστήρας epikroustíras, λύκος lýkos, κόκορας kókoras
Русскийкуро́к kurók, уда́рник udárnik
Tiếng Việtcò

verb to strike repeatedly

Españolmartillar
Portuguêsmartelar
Françaismarteler
Deutschhämmern
Italianomartellare, colpire, picchiare
Русскийколоти́ть kolotítʹ, молоти́ть molotítʹ, дуба́сить dubásitʹ

verb to shape by beating

Deutschhämmern, klopfen
Ελληνικάσφυροκοπώ sfyrokopó
Русскийкова́ть kovátʹ, выко́вывать vykóvyvatʹ, чека́нить čekánitʹ

verb figuratively: to emphasize a point repeatedly

Portuguêsmartelar
Françaismarteler
Deutscheinhämmern
Italianomartellare

verb sports: to hit particularly hard

Españolchutar

verb to strike internally, as if hit by a hammer

Deutschrattern, hämmern
Italianopicchiare, picchiare in testa

verb sports: to defeat resoundingly

Deutschschlagen

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MLA

"hammer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hammer. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

hammer. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hammer

Chicago

"hammer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hammer.

BibTeX
@misc{hammer_2026,
  title = {hammer},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hammer},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}