Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A long heavy hammer, often wielded with both hands, used for driving wedges and posts and for other heavy work.
- transitive verb To strike with or as if with a sledgehammer.
- adjective Ruthlessly severe; crushing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
hammer that consists of a large, heavy, broad and flat block of metal (thehead ) attached to ahandle typically 0.5 meter to 1 meter long. The sledgehammer's design is meant to allow it to be swung powerfully, and to distribute force over a wide area uponimpact . - verb To strike with a sledgehammer.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a heavy long-handled hammer used to drive stakes or wedges
- verb beat with a sledgehammer
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In January it emerged that the plan - codenamed "sledgehammer" - had been hatched at the highest levels of the military to plant bombs to destabilise the government.
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In January it emerged that the plan - codenamed "sledgehammer" - had been hatched at the highest levels of the military to plant bombs to destabilise the government.
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In January it emerged that the plan - codenamed "sledgehammer" - had been hatched at the highest levels of the military to plant bombs to destabilise the government.
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As for leisure activities, a few old weights and a sledgehammer is the gym.
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COOPER (voice-over): As for leisure activities, a few old weights and a sledgehammer is the gym.
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COOPER (voice-over): As for leisure activities, a few old weights and a sledgehammer is the gym.
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As for leisure activities, a few old weights and a sledgehammer is the gym.
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The high leather boots and the hand that still gripped the handle of the sledgehammer were the only remains of the man.
The Best Short Stories of 1920 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story Various 1915
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In Florence, Italy, a sledgehammer was the likely cause of destruction for a speed camera on the Florence-Pisa-Leghorn expressway.
TheNewspaper 2009
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Then, Orton, in a fit of evil rage, ran under the ring and grabbed a sledgehammer, which is usually Triple H's weapon of choice.
The Rebel Yell 2009
jennarenn commented on the word sledgehammer
I heard this song on the radio for the first time yesterday, and instantly recognized it as something I'd played in pep band years ago.
June 26, 2008