hammer

CEFRB1

/ˈhæmə/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A tool with a heavy head used for hitting things.

  2. 02

    verb

    To hit something repeatedly with force.

Examples

  • Bob can no more swim than a hammer can.

  • Do you mind handing me the hammer?

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /ˈhamə/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The act of using a hammer to hit something.

  2. The malleus, a small bone of the middle ear.

  3. A tool with a heavy head and a handle used for pounding.

More examples

In context

  • Bobby used a hammer and nails to fix the two planks together.

  • The nail is too loose—give it a hammer.

  • The sound the piano makes comes from the hammers striking the strings

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

He used a heavy blank to drive the nail into the wood.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.