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Showing results for hammer out. Search instead for hammer+up.
Synonyms

hammer out

British  

verb

  1. to shape or remove with or as if with a hammer

  2. to form or produce (an agreement, plan, etc) after much discussion or dispute

"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
hammer out Idioms  

  1. Work out with considerable effort, as in It took weeks of negotiations to hammer out an acceptable compromise. This usage likens intellectual effort to shaping metal with the blows of a hammer. [Mid-1700s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The meeting is likely meant to hammer out economic achievements to be announced at the leaders' summit, Fudan University professor Wu Xinbo told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

And so Scott’s major recent step has been to hire a financial planner to help them hammer out their final retirement plans.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 2026

The work I’m doing right now is so wonderful, but I’m just buzzing with the need to sit in one place for two months and hammer out a draft.

From Salon • Jan. 14, 2026

China’s ruling elites will soon gather to hammer out the priorities for the world’s second-largest economy next year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025

Greg Lippmann at Deutsche Bank, a pair of traders at Goldman Sachs, and a few others came together to hammer out the details of the contract.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.