How to use sledgehammer in a sentence

12 example sentences · noun, verb, adjective

Sledgehammer means a hammer that consists of a large, heavy, broad and flat block of metal (the head) attached to a handle typically 0.5 meter to 1 meter long. The sledgehammer's design is meant to allow it to be swung powerfully, and to distribute force over a wide area upon impact. Example: “Hit that wedge a good lick with the sledgehammer.”

Examples of sledgehammer by meaning

nounA hammer that consists of a large, heavy, broad and flat block of metal (the head) attached to a handle typically 0.5...

They take sledgehammers to statues with an uncommon gusto – destroying in seconds what may have survived centuries.2015 February 26, Ben Wedeman, Dana Ford, “Video shows ISIS militants destroying antiquities in Iraq”, in CNN, archived from the original...

verbTo strike (something) with a sledgehammer.

Some lawmakers were so incensed that they even invited the news media to watch the sledgehammering of the Japanese company's products on the Capitol's steps.1989 December 10, Clyde H. Farnsworth, “Japan's Loud Voice in Washington”, in The New York Times
She’s trying to piece together shards of precious pottery gleefully sledgehammered by a delegation led by the Taliban’s minister of culture, who deemed the world’s greatest collection of Central Asian artifacts un-Islamic.2009 February 22, Jane And Michael Stern, “Nirvana Express”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022

adjectiveCompletely lacking grace and dexterity.

Promising new treatments avoid the sledgehammer approach of traditional chemotherapy in two key ways."2015 October 26, Michael Boyer, “Brave new world of cancer treatment revealed”, in The University of Sydney, archived from the original on...

More sentences with sledgehammer

Hit that wedge a good lick with the sledgehammer.From the entry lick
Sammy knew Johnny was as tough as teak and he carried a punch like a sledgehammer blow.2000, James Hadley Chase, Knock, Knock! Who's There?, page 4. From the entry tough as teak
In our view the Public Order Bill is an attempt by the Government to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.2022 December 17, Martin Evans, quoting Mike Barton et al., “Law to curb Just Stop Oil protests ‘a sledgehammer to crack a nut’, say…. From the entry use a sledgehammer to crack a nut
Large, artsy-fartsy walls in hidden locations in an age of vandals can only have one result. (next, sledgehaMMers).2007 March 27, softsofa, “Narrows bike tunnels: stupidity extremis or diabolic cleverness?”, in tacoma.general (Usenet). From the entry vandalicious
Burrell is at his fiery best, attacking bottomy chords with sledgehammer power--there's not a ragtime riff in sight.2003 November 21, Peter Margasak, “Full-Blown Trio”, in Chicago Reader. From the entry bottomy
After them came men called spallers, who broke the rock down into smaller lumps, generally about three inches across, with sledgehammers.1997, Leigh Edmonds, The Vital Link: A History of Main Roads Western Australia: 1926-1996. From the entry spaller
But RDG is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut and punishing many millions of honest passengers by making tickets more restrictive.2026 March 18, Philip Haigh, “Tickets please: 2p per scan to offset fraudulent refunds?”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 48. From the entry abuse
Kahn put it more bluntly, saying "this is wielding a sledgehammer in a crowded restaurant: 'We've decided CBS is too woke — and we're going to unwoke it'."2025 July 30, Daniel Thomas, Christopher Grimes, Anna Nicolaou, James Fontanella-Khan, quoting Gabriel Kahn, “Paramount deal thrusts David…. From the entry unwoke

Meaning of sledgehammer

noun A hammer that consists of a large, heavy, broad and flat block of metal (the head) attached to a handle typically 0.5 meter to 1 meter long. The sledgehammer's design is meant to allow it to be swung powerfully, and to distribute force over a wide area upon impact.
verb To strike (something) with a sledgehammer.
adjective Completely lacking grace and dexterity.

Full definition of sledgehammer

Questions about sledgehammer in a sentence

How do you use sledgehammer in a sentence?: Sledgehammer is used as a noun, verb and adjective. For example: “Hit that wedge a good lick with the sledgehammer.”
What is a short sentence with sledgehammer?: “Hit that wedge a good lick with the sledgehammer.”
What does sledgehammer mean?: Sledgehammer means a hammer that consists of a large, heavy, broad and flat block of metal (the head) attached to a handle typically 0.5 meter to 1 meter long. The sledgehammer's design is meant to allow it to be swung powerfully, and to distribute force over a wide area upon impact.

Adapted from Wiktionary: sledgehammer (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use sledgehammer in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/sledgehammer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.