- 1[countable] a tool with a handle and a heavy metal head, used for breaking things or hitting nails (figurative) The decision is a hammer blow for the steel industry. a gentle tap with a hammer He struck her on the head with a hammer. see sledgehammer
- 2[countable] a tool with a handle and a wooden head, used by a person in charge of an auction (=a sale at which things are sold to the person who offers the most money) to get people's attention when something is just being sold to come/go under the hammer (= to be sold at auction) Forty modern Russian paintings went under the hammer at Christie's today.
- 3[countable] a small wooden part inside a piano, that hits the strings to produce a sound in gun
- 4[countable] a part inside a gun that makes the gun fire sports
- 5[countable] a metal ball attached to a wire, thrown as a sport
- 6the hammer [singular] the event or sport of throwing the hammer Idioms
tool
if two people are at it hammer and tongs or go at it hammer and tongs, they argue or fight with a lot of energy and noise We could hear the neighbors going at it hammer and tongs.
Check pronunciation: hammer