sledgehammer

1 of 3

noun

sledge·​ham·​mer ˈslej-ˌha-mər How to pronounce sledgehammer (audio)
: a large heavy hammer that is wielded with both hands
also : something that resembles a sledgehammer in action

sledgehammer

2 of 3

verb

sledgehammered; sledgehammering; sledgehammers

transitive verb

: to strike with or as if with a sledgehammer

intransitive verb

: to strike blows with or as if with a sledgehammer

sledgehammer

3 of 3

adjective

: marked by heavy-handed directness or hard-hitting force
trusting in sledgehammer warfareC. J. Rolo

Examples of sledgehammer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Drew tells Brown to ditch the sledgehammer and use his hands to break through what’s left of the wall to get an idea of what the space will be transformed into. Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024 Michigan is a like a sledgehammer that wants to bludgeon teams with its offense and suffocate them with its defense. USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2024 Wearing black hooded sweatshirts, gloves, surgical masks and black hats, the suspects smashed the glass cases with sledgehammers before snatching the jewelry and making off into a black SUV and driving out of the mall property onto Baldwin Road. Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2024 Moon’s soaring, youthful tone has a gorgeous rasping burr to it, while Bean’s astonishing sledgehammer voice has a similar, fractured quality. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023 In recent years, students linked to far-right groups have physically attacked other students over their liberal and secular views, bashing them with sledgehammers, iron rods and bricks. Sameer Yasir, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2024 In the next game and a half, with a sledgehammer running game, Shanahan called 66 rushing plays and 14 passes. Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2024 Martin admitted to stealing the slippers by busting through the door and breaking the plexiglass container that held the shoes with a sledgehammer. Brammhi Balarajan, CNN, 30 Jan. 2024 The campaign gained such confidence that even as the dispute over the plot was being heard in court, tens of thousands of foot soldiers gathered at the spot in December 1992 and, in the presence of top right-wing leaders, destroyed the mosque with ropes, sledgehammers and their bare hands. Hari Kumar Atul Loke, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024
Verb
The folks in attendance Monday at the century-old building on St. Paul’s Payne Avenue included Mayor Melvin Carter and Gov. Tim Walz, who took turns sledgehammering holes in the drywall to kick off a $10 million, top-to-bottom reinvention. Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2024 The move means the 7-foot Kiwi will be under contract for the next three seasons and signals that at a time when the game is becoming increasingly perimeter-oriented, the Pelicans will try to sledgehammer their way to wins. Christian Clark, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 2020 While Beijing’s sledgehammer approach — seen by many as an extreme experiment unprecedented in size and scope — worked to quickly lower the number of infections, the price in human trauma and economic loss was severe. Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2020 The suit stemmed from a May 10, 2019, incident in which police sledgehammered the front gate of his Outer Richmond home, held him in handcuffs for hours and seized his phone, computers and other equipment. Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020 Perhaps the most brazen took place in 1958, when two men sledgehammered the Fifth Avenue display windows in the middle of the night. James Barron, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2020 Should have done steel ball on window, *then* sledgehammer the door. Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2019 This aluminum-block five is a beast, spinning out a lag-free 400 horsepower and sledgehammering 354 pound-feet of torque from 1700 rpm all the way to 5850 rpm. Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 26 Jan. 2018 Also, remember that sidewalks aren’t that difficult or expensive to sledgehammer out and rebuild a few feet away. Neil Sperry, San Antonio Express-News, 5 Jan. 2018
Adjective
If coffee is a sledgehammer blow to the brain — admittedly sometimes useful — yaupon was more like a gentle neural stroking. Gabriel Popkin, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 And Sundwall said that, in retrospect, state health officials took a sledgehammer approach to mitigating the pandemic, such as school closings in 2020, when the state could have taken a more surgical tack. Bethany Rodgers, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Sep. 2021 The Academy Award winner quickly turned into a sledgehammer pro, getting involved in breaking through walls and ripping out fixtures. Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 9 July 2021 There’s no in between when the world’s best heavyweights start throwing sledgehammer punches. San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2021 Beside the sledgehammer threat of the PPP tax issue, several other emergency programs for small businesses are scheduled to expire at year-end unless Congress extends them. Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 7 Dec. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sledgehammer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1834, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Adjective

1827, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sledgehammer was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near sledgehammer

Cite this Entry

“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sledgehammer. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sledgehammer

1 of 2 noun
sledge·​ham·​mer ˈslej-ˌham-ər How to pronounce sledgehammer (audio)
: a large heavy hammer usually used with both hands
sledgehammer verb

sledgehammer

2 of 2 adjective
: marked by directness or strong force
a sledgehammer approach to the problem

More from Merriam-Webster on sledgehammer

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!