hammers

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of hammer.

   The blacksmith lined up his hammers by weight along the workbench.

   Modern claw hammers feature shock-absorbing handles to reduce strain.

   Note

   The plural noun shares its spelling exactly with the present-tense verb, and only the sentence tells them apart: "the hammers are heavy" against "she hammers the nail." The plural also reaches well past the toolbox. It covers a piano's felt-covered hammers striking the strings, the steel balls on wire that athletes throw, and, in curling, the last stones of successive ends.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of hammer.

   The smith hammers the glowing iron into a curved blade.

   Rain hammers against the windows during the worst of the storm.

   Note

   Here the verb works both with and without an object. With one, it beats or shapes something: a smith hammers iron, and figuratively a speaker hammers a point. Without one, it describes a pounding from inside, as when a heart or head hammers. In slang, a rider who hammers is going flat out. This -s form goes only with he, she, it or a singular noun.

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