noun
- a tool for pounding, usually consisting of a metal head fastened across one end of a handle: one end of the head may be a pronged claw for pulling nails
- a thing like this tool in shape or use; specif.,
- the mechanism that strikes the firing pin or percussion cap in a firearm
- a device for striking a bell, gong, metal bar, etc. to make a sound
- any of the felt-covered mallets that strike against the strings of a piano
- a high-speed, hammering power tool fitted with a metal block or chisel, for shaping metal, breaking up paved surfaces, etc.
- the malleus, one of the three bones of the middle ear
- an auctioneer's gavel
- a metal ball weighing usually sixteen pounds, hung from a wire handle and thrown for distance in a track-and-field competition
Origin:
ME hamer < OE hamor, akin to Ger hammer, ON hamarr, crag, cliff < IE *omor-, stone hammer < base *ak-m- < a-, sharp, sharp stone > Gr akmē, point, akmōn, anvil
intransitive verb
to strike repeated blows with or as with a hammer