🔨 A heavy hammer 🔨 To hit hard

to sledgehammer

1 7.2

To hit something very hard with a large heavy tool with a long handle

verb
/ˈslɛdʒˌhæmɚ/

: golpear con un mazo

And it just hit me like a sledgehammer that what we were doing wasn't disruptive in the Christensen definition.
sledgehammering through the wall

Examples

If I didn't, I would have sledgehammered that pretty little brother.

Blog text (27)
Friction is where your life is trying to hit you with a sledgehammer because life wants you to be hay.
And it just really felt like I'd been hit with a sledgehammer and I thought straight away, I've broken my leg.
Desire sledgehammered me.

Mysterious Skin (2005)
If you think I'm just sledgehammering opinions like your typical partisan political blogger, you will stumble endlessly here.

Blog text (10)
(I see van Gogh at work: no nervous poking, carefully executing each step—no!—hurling from behind his shoulder—sledgehammering violent eruptions of color onto the canvas.

Academic text (1997)
He decided to sledgehammer the old bricks to make room for the new door.
During the renovation, they had to sledgehammer the concrete to fit the new plumbing.
The carpenter used a sledgehammer to strike the stubborn stake deep into the ground.

Synonyms

to punch

vsto sledgehammer

455 1.4

To hit someone or something quickly with a closed fist

contrasts with using a large heavy hammer for slower, heavier blows

to smack

vsto sledgehammer

164 3.5

To hit someone or something with an open hand

uses a heavy hammer tool rather than an open hand strike

to bash

vsto sledgehammer

NSFW

73 2.9

To hit someone or something very hard

specifies that the great force comes from using a heavy hammer tool

to bludgeon

vsto sledgehammer

NSFW

23 8.8

To hit someone repeatedly with a heavy stick or club

implies single very heavy hammer blows rather than repeated blunt attacks

to smite

vsto sledgehammer

Archaic

13 9.8

Hit a person or thing with a heavy blow

specifies that the heavy blow is done with a large hammer tool

to slug

vsto sledgehammer

Informal

10 4.6

To hit someone or something very hard, often with the fist

involves using a heavy hammer rather than a fist for the hard hit

to club

vsto sledgehammer

8 5.1

To hit someone or something hard with a heavy stick

focuses on using a heavy, usually two handed hammer rather than a stick

to strike hard

vsto sledgehammer

3 3.7

Hit someone or something very hard

adds that the force comes from a very heavy hammer rather than any blow

to poleax

vsto sledgehammer

Archaic

1 9.9

To hit someone hard so they fall or to overwhelm them suddenly

concentrates on heavy hammer strikes rather than the idea of overpowering

to swack

vsto sledgehammer

Archaic

1 9.9

To hit someone or something hard

names a specific heavy hammer as the source of the force

to mallet

vsto sledgehammer

1 7.9

To hit something with a wooden hammer-like tool

refers to using a very large heavy hammer rather than a small hand tool

to cudgel

vsto sledgehammer

1 9.4

To hit someone with a short thick stick

uses a larger hammer and may imply single very heavy blows rather than repeated hits

to sledge

vsto sledgehammer

7.9

To hit something hard with a heavy hammer that has a long handle

is the exact same action with no meaningful difference in sense

to poleaxe

vsto sledgehammer

Archaic

9.9

To knock someone to the ground as if hit by a heavy weapon

focuses on forceful hammer blows rather than the fall or decisive defeat

smash

vsto sledgehammer

5.0

Happening with a sudden loud crash

focuses more on using a heavy hammer for force rather than noise or breakage

to slog

vsto sledgehammer

7.0

To hit someone or something very hard, for example with a fist

implies using a large hammer for heavy striking rather than smaller implements

Antonyms

tap

66 1.0

A light touch or sound from a gentle hit

caress

14 3.8

A gentle touch that shows affection

Idioms

sledgehammer to crack a nut

Informal

8.5

To use far more force or effort than needed for a small task

How Forceful

to pulverize

15 7.6

to sledgehammer

1 7.2

to strike

553 2.4

to hit

∞ 1.0

to tap

174 1.0

Surface Forms

sledgehammer infinitive

sledgehammered past

sledgehammered past participle

sledgehammering present participle

sledgehammers third person singular

Morphology

sledgehammer = sledgehammer (transparent) = sledge + hammer

The verb is a straightforward conversion from the noun 'sledgehammer', meaning to use a sledgehammer to strike something.

Etymology

Sledgehammer as a verb comes from the idea of using a sledgehammer tool to hit something hard. So to sledgehammer something is to 'hit it very hard' or break it, just like using a very big hammer.