hammer
/ˈhæmɚ/noun, verb
hammer is spelled H-A-M-M-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hammer means “A tool with a heavy head and a handle used for pounding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hammer is hammers.
How many letters and syllables are in hammer?
| Letters | 6: H-A-M-M-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hammer?
Hammer appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hammer?
- UK /ˈhæmə/
- British /ˈhamə/
- US /ˈhæmɚ/
Hammer has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-hammer.ogg, En-us-hammer.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hammer?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hammer from its last stressed vowel (/æməɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hammer
- hammers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hammering participle, present
- hammered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hammer mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tool with a heavy head and a handle used for pounding.
Bobby used a hammer and nails to fix the two planks together.
- 2
The act of using a hammer to hit something.
The nail is too loose–give it a hammer.
- 3
The malleus, a small bone of the middle ear.
- 4
In a piano or dulcimer, a piece of wood covered in felt that strikes the string.
The sound the piano makes comes from the hammers striking the strings
- 5
A device made of a heavy steel ball attached to a length of wire, and used for throwing.
- 6
The last stone in an end.
- 7
A frisbee throw in which the disc is held upside-down with a forehand grip and thrown forwards above the head.
- 8
Part of a clock that strikes upon a bell to indicate the hour.
verb
- 1
To strike repeatedly with a hammer, some other implement, the fist, etc.
Tony hammered on the door to try to get him to open.
- 2
To form or forge with a hammer; to shape by beating.
- 3
To emphasize a point repeatedly.
- 4
To hit particularly hard.
- 5
slangTo ride very fast.
- 6
To strike internally, as if hit by a hammer.
I could hear the engine’s valves hammering once the timing rod was thrown.
- 7
slangTo defeat (a person, a team) resoundingly.
We hammered them 5-0!
- 8
slangTo make high demands on (a system or service).
noun
- 1
someone connected with West Ham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hammer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marteau , chien , malléus , marteler |
| German | Hammer, Hàmmer , Schlagstück, Hahn, Schlaghebel , hämmern |
| Portuguese | martelo , percussor, cão , martelar |
| Spanish | martillo , percutor, percusor , martillar , martinete , chutar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hammer come from?
From Middle English hamer, from Old English hamor, from Proto-West Germanic *hamar, from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz (“tool with a stone head”) (compare West Frisian hammer, Low German Hamer, Dutch hamer, German Hammer, Danish hammer, Swedish hammare). This is traditionally ascribed to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱmoros, from *h₂éḱmō (“stone”), but see *hamaraz for further discussion. (declare a defaulter on the stock exchange): Originally signalled by knocking with a wooden mallet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).