What does "hammer down" mean?

Fix something firmly into place with a hammer. For example: He hammered the nails down.

hammer down

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle down

Meanings

Why “down”? The hand moves down along a surface. It presses, fixes, wipes, or checks it closely.

“He hammered the nails down.”

He fixed the nails firmly into place with a hammer.

“She hammered the peg down into the soil.”

She fixed the peg firmly into the soil with a hammer.

Don't confuse with

hammer downhammer out

Hammer down means fix something firmly into place with a hammer. Hammer out means reach an agreement after long and difficult discussion.

Test yourself

“He hammered the nails down.” What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

hammer out

A contrast learners often mix up

Reach an agreement after long and difficult discussion

hose down