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battering ram

noun

  1. an ancient military device with a heavy horizontal ram for battering down walls, gates, etc.
  2. any of various similar devices, usually machine-powered, used in demolition, by police and firefighters to force entrance to a building, etc.


battering ram

noun

  1. (esp formerly) a large beam used to break down the walls or doors of fortifications
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of battering ram1

First recorded in 1605–15
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Example Sentences

One with a pistol strapped to his hip swings a battering ram into a door.

Tonight, he was a battering ram whenever anyone tried to interrupt him.

His dream quickly turned prophetic, as Coach Beiste finally agreed to allow him to join the team as a human battering ram.

But, also, such pulse-pounding adventure is a battering ram against the central bulwark of a civilized society.

The door had locked itself behind me; they got a fence post for a battering ram, and the post burst into flame.

The tortoise of the battering ram was constructed in the same way.

Virtus ariete fortior—Virtue is stronger than a 35 battering-ram.

It had stout wheel-spokes and heavy felloes, a great curved bed, immense straps and springs, and a pole like a battering-ram.

The first one caught Zimballo full in the chest and knocked him back against the wall with the shock of a battering ram.

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