pile driver
noun
plural pile drivers
1
a
: a machine for driving piles (see pile entry 1 sense 1) into the ground
b
: a person who operates a pile driver
2
usually piledriver
or pile-driver plural piledrivers or pile-drivers, British, informal
: a forceful hit or kick (as of a ball)
hit a pile-driver into the net from 20 yards out
3
usually piledriver
or less commonly pile-driver
: a wrestling move in which a wrestler seizes an opponent and drops to the floor driving the opponent headfirst into the mat
The turning point of the match took place when Garcia executed a picturesque piledriver on Casanova.—
Justin Barrasso
Justin Barrasso
piledrive
verb, transitive + intransitive
or pile drive
or less commonly pile-drive
pile-drived or pile-drove
ˈpī(-ə)l-ˌdrōv 
also pile drove or piledrived or piledrove or pile drived; pile-driven
ˈpī(-ə)l-ˌdri-vən
or pile driven also piledriven; pile-driving also pile driving or piledriving; piledrives also pile drives or pile-drives
also pile drove or piledrived or piledrove or pile drived; pile-driven
ˈpī(-ə)l-ˌdri-vən
or pile driven also piledriven; pile-driving also pile driving or piledriving; piledrives also pile drives or pile-drives
piledrive an opponent
Skinner started his career pile driving back in 1979 …
—Surrey (British Columbia) Now-Leader
Surrey (British Columbia) Now-Leader
(figurative)
pile-drived the competition
Examples of pile driver in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The song itself is booming, comparable to the clang of a chorus of pile drivers, according to the researchers who recorded it.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2023
Perforated pipes encircle the pile driver, blowing a wall of air bubbles that absorb and refract the noise, reducing it by as much as 15 dB.
—Joseph Polidoro, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2021
The project's general contractor, Lunda/McCrossan Joint Venture, has been installing giant vertical sheets of steel using a press-in pile driver to stabilize soil and make room for tunnel construction.
—Janet Moore, Star Tribune, 9 June 2021
But despite hammering those various points home with all the subtlety of a pile driver, her message ends up as muddled as the plot.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2020
Huge cranes and pile drivers have now joined the mix at the Protective Stadium construction site in Birmingham.
—Anna Beahm | Abeahm@al.com, al, 7 Feb. 2020
Monica Gauthier, a pile driver near Portland, Oregon, had been unsuccessfully looking for work back in 2005 when someone told her about an upcoming job fair for women who might want to enter the field.
—Amanda Abrams, Curbed, 5 Nov. 2018
In 1870, the first mayor of Seattle is elected: Henry Atkins, a pile driver who helped build docks and wharves on Puget Sound.
—Morning Brief, The Seattle Times, 11 July 2018
Buy Photo The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Blackwood firm for safety violations in the death of a pile driver at a construction site on the Camden waterfront in September.
—Joseph A. Gambardello, Philly.com, 30 Mar. 2018
Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2023
Perforated pipes encircle the pile driver, blowing a wall of air bubbles that absorb and refract the noise, reducing it by as much as 15 dB.
—Joseph Polidoro, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2021
The project's general contractor, Lunda/McCrossan Joint Venture, has been installing giant vertical sheets of steel using a press-in pile driver to stabilize soil and make room for tunnel construction.
—Janet Moore, Star Tribune, 9 June 2021
But despite hammering those various points home with all the subtlety of a pile driver, her message ends up as muddled as the plot.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2020
Huge cranes and pile drivers have now joined the mix at the Protective Stadium construction site in Birmingham.
—Anna Beahm | Abeahm@al.com, al, 7 Feb. 2020
Monica Gauthier, a pile driver near Portland, Oregon, had been unsuccessfully looking for work back in 2005 when someone told her about an upcoming job fair for women who might want to enter the field.
—Amanda Abrams, Curbed, 5 Nov. 2018
In 1870, the first mayor of Seattle is elected: Henry Atkins, a pile driver who helped build docks and wharves on Puget Sound.
—Morning Brief, The Seattle Times, 11 July 2018
Buy Photo The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Blackwood firm for safety violations in the death of a pile driver at a construction site on the Camden waterfront in September.
—Joseph A. Gambardello, Philly.com, 30 Mar. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pile driver.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pile driver
Cite this Entry
“Pile driver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pile%20driver. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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