4 VERB If you hammer something such as an idea into people or you hammer at it, you keep repeating it forcefully so that it will have an effect on people. □ [V n + into ] He hammered it into me that I had not suddenly become a rotten goalkeeper. □ [V + at ] Recent advertising campaigns from the industry have hammered at these themes.
5 VERB If you say that someone hammers another person, you mean that they attack, criticize, or punish the other person severely. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V n] The report hammers the private motorist. ● ham|mer|ing N‑SING □ Parents have taken a terrible hammering.
6 V-PASSIVE If you say that businesses are being hammered , you mean that they are being unfairly harmed, for example by a change in taxes or by bad economic conditions. [BRIT ] □ [be V -ed] The company has been hammered by the downturn in the construction and motor industries.
7 VERB In sports, if you say that one player or team hammered another, you mean that the first player or team defeated the second completely and easily. [BRIT , JOURNALISM ] □ [V n] He hammered the young Austrian player in four straight sets. ● ham|mer|ing N‑SING □ England's bowlers took a hammering.
8 N‑COUNT In athletics, a hammer is a heavy weight on a piece of wire, which the athlete throws as far as possible. ● N‑SING The hammer also refers to the sport of throwing the hammer.
9 PHRASE If you say that someone was going at something hammer and tongs , you mean that they were doing it with great enthusiasm or energy. □ He loved gardening. He went at it hammer and tongs as soon as he got back from work.
10 PHRASE If you say that something goes, comes, or is under the hammer , you mean that it is going to be sold at an auction. □ Ian Fleming's original unpublished notes are to go under the hammer at London auctioneers Sotheby's.
▸ hammer away
1 PHRASAL VERB If you hammer away at a task or activity, you work at it constantly and with great energy. □ [V P + at ] Palmer kept hammering away at his report.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you hammer away at an idea or subject, you keep talking about it, especially because you disapprove of it. □ [V P + at ] They also hammered away at Labor's plans to raise taxes.
▸ hammer in → see hammer 2
▸ hammer out PHRASAL VERB If people hammer out an agreement or treaty, they succeed in producing it after a long or difficult discussion. □ [V P n] I think we can hammer out a solution. [Also V n P ]
ham|mock /hæ mək/ (hammocks ) N‑COUNT A hammock is a piece of strong cloth or netting which is hung between two supports and used as a bed.
ham|per /hæ mpə r / (hampers , hampering , hampered )
1 VERB If someone or something hampers you, they make it difficult for you to do what you are trying to do. □ [V n] The bad weather hampered rescue operations.
2 N‑COUNT A hamper is a basket containing food of various kinds that is given to people as a present.
3 N‑COUNT A hamper is a large basket with a lid, used especially for carrying food in.
ham|ster /hæ mstə r / (hamsters ) N‑COUNT A hamster is a small furry animal which is similar to a mouse, and which is often kept as a pet.
ham|string /hæ mstr I ŋ/ (hamstrings , hamstringing , hamstrung )
1 N‑COUNT A hamstring is a length of tissue or tendon behind your knee which joins the muscles of your thigh to the bones of your lower leg. □ Webster has not played since suffering a hamstring injury in the opening game.
2 VERB If you hamstring someone, you make it very difficult for them to take any action. □ [V n] If he becomes the major opposition leader, he could hamstring a conservative-led coalition.
hand
➊ NOUN USES AND PHRASES
➋ VERB USES
➊ hand ◆◆◆ /hæ nd/ (hands )
→ Please look at categories 55 to 59 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 N‑COUNT Your hands are the parts of your body at the end of your arms. Each hand has four fingers and a thumb. □ I put my hand into my pocket and pulled out the letter. □ Sylvia, camera in hand, asked, 'Where do we go first?'
2 N‑SING [with poss] The hand of someone or something is their influence in an event or situation. □ The hand of the military authorities can be seen in the entire electoral process.
3 N‑PLURAL [usu in N ] If you say that something is in a particular person's hands , you mean that they are looking after it, own it, or are responsible for it. □ [+ of ] He is leaving his north London business in the hands of a colleague. □ We're in safe hands.
4 N‑SING If you ask someone for a hand with something, you are asking them to help you in what you are doing. □ Come and give me a hand in the garden.
5 N‑COUNT A hand is someone, usually a man, who does hard physical work, for example in a factory or on a farm, as part of a group of people who all do similar work. □ He now works as a farm hand.
6 N‑SING If someone asks an audience to give someone a hand , they are asking the audience to clap loudly, usually before or after that person performs. □ Let's give 'em a big hand.
7 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If a man asks for a woman's hand in marriage , he asks her or her parents for permission to marry her. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ [+ in ] He came to ask Usha's father for her hand in marriage.