hammer out
to shape or remove with or as if with a hammer
to form or produce (an agreement, plan, etc) after much discussion or dispute
Words Nearby hammer out
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
How to use hammer out in a sentence
Clinton tried to hammer out a settlement and failed miserable.
Democrats tried to conference in the summer and hammer out a deal on the budget.
Democrats May Be Obstructionists Now, but They Have Good Reason | Jamelle Bouie | October 1, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTEven if Biden and McConnell hammer out a deal, time is running out.
Both sides will insist they want some sort of corridor—not just an "umbilical chord"—and they must hammer out a tough compromise.
Still, even if Congress and the White House hammer out a plan, the lag time to prepare could be substantial.
Panel Highlights Alarming Lack of National Plan for U.S. Nuclear Waste | Daniel Stone | January 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Henry's conscience was set at rest as he began with great delight to hammer out his bent nails.
The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler WarnerNevertheless, it took the United States several years to hammer out a working constitution.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind | Herbert George WellsIf you only knew what fun I've got out of life at times; have to hammer out a bit of something lively now and then, you know!
Dry Fish and Wet | Anthon Bernhard Elias NilsenFrom a half dollar they will hammer out or mold a bangle and cover it with chasing very deftly cut.
Over the Rocky Mountains to Alaska | Charles Warren StoddardYour paterfamilias, in pre-telegraph days, used to hammer out a few solid opinions of his own on matters political and otherwise.
Alone | Norman Douglas
Other Idioms and Phrases with hammer out
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]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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