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sledgehammer Definition

sledge·hammer (slejham′ər)

noun

a long, heavy hammer, usually held with both hands

Etymology: see sledge

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to strike with or as with a sledgehammer

adjective

crushingly powerful

sledgehammer Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • track: Just an incredibly funky sledgehammer of a club track which sounds like nothing anybody from this " pop " world has produced.

Adjective modifier

  • proverbial: For a professional it is an essential tool, but it may be the proverbial sledgehammer to crack a walnut for many.
  • big: The world's biggest sledgehammer is being used to crack a very small nut.
  • funky: Just an incredibly funky sledgehammer of a club track which sounds like nothing anybody from this " pop " world has produced.
  • large: The sound of a million large sledgehammers being used to crack one small walnut.

Converse of object

  • use: However, care should always be taken not to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
  • take: We do not take a sledgehammer to crack a ' nut.
  • wield: So its default setting is to wield the sledgehammer at every nut, as it were, that it can see.

Converse of subject

  • hit: He sees a man get hit by a sledgehammer, but he comes back and kills his murderer.

Modifies a noun

  • approach: The university always uses a sledgehammer approach to us.
  • blow: Colin Wills, the last tin miner in St. Agnes will strike a symbolic sledgehammer blow linking the past with the present.
  • subtlety: In other words, the beauty is ironic, albeit done with sledgehammer subtlety.
sledgehammer Quotes

Sledgehammer sentimentality.

—Kent, Rockwell

Browse dictionary entries near sledgehammer

  1. sledge
  2. sledding
  3. sled dog
  4. sled
  5. sleazy
  6. sleazoid
  7. sleaze
  8. sleave
  9. sld
  10. SLCM
  1. sleek
  2. sleekit
  3. sleep
  4. sleep apnea
  5. sleep around
  6. sleep on it
  7. sleep (something) off
  8. sleeper
  9. sleepily
  10. sleepiness