sledgehammer

Alternative forms

• sledge-hammer

Etymology

sledge +‎ hammer

Pronunciation

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Noun

sledgehammer (plural sledgehammers)

1. A hammer that consists of a large, heavy, broad and flat block of metal (the head) attached to a handle 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 upon impact.

Verb

sledgehammer (third-person singular simple present sledgehammers, present participle sledgehammering, simple past and past participle sledgehammered)

1. To strike with a sledgehammer.
   • 2009 February 22, Jane And Michael Stern, “Nirvana Express”, in New York Times‎:

     She’s trying to piece together shards of precious pottery gleefully sledgehammered by a delegation led by the Taliban’s minister of culture, who deemed the world’s greatest collection of Central Asian artifacts un-Islamic.

See also

• forehammer
• hammer
• mallet
• maul