HAMMERING OUT Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

hammering out

verb

present participle of hammer out

as in grinding (out)

to produce or bring about especially by long or repeated effort the city council hammered out new commercial development regulations with input from residents, business owners, and environmental activists

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hammering out Mandel started hammering out the pilot with showrunner Patrick Somerville (the two currently have permission to sell the scripts should another network show interest) but spent most of her days thinking about what her next novel might be. — Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026 However, both sides of the debate left the door open to hammering out a potential compromise in the coming days before either version faces a vote by the full City Council. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026 After hammering out the details in recent weeks, the Miami-Dade school board agreed Wednesday on a contract for Rafael Villalobos to take the reins as superintendent of the district. — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026 Fox is the first NFL partner to publicly assert a lack of interest in hammering out an early revision of its existing media contract. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Israeli and Lebanese negotiating teams are set to meet again there to continue hammering out a plan under which Israel would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament. — ABC News, 1 Aug. 2026 Once Alex Ovechkin made his decision, hammering out the details took only a few minutes. — Bailey Johnson, Washington Post, 6 July 2026 Pritzker needs to take a hands-on approach, gathering all the stakeholders well in advance of the November veto session and hammering out a workable regimen, to ensure lawmakers have something on which to vote. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2026 Aponte’s predecessor Kevin Abrams was the Giants‘ salary cap lead in previous years, most memorably hammering out the early versions of Daniel Jones’ contract extension in the lobby of the JW Marriott here in March 2023. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hammering out

Verb

Expanding worker retraining programs, investing in the ailing public school system, and improving access to community colleges will do far more than tariffs to rebuild the middle class—and are the first steps in forging a new social contract.

— Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026
But since the start of the war, Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria have continued upgrading their navies while forging closer cooperation on maritime security, according to Carnegie.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of forging

Verb

Founder Marty Odlin told me the company had not finished developing sensors and methods to reliably measure key properties such as pH and dissolved inorganic carbon.

— Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
America’s national security depends on the startups developing the technologies of the future.

— Andrei Iancu, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of developing

Verb

Some have already talked to a parent; others are working up the nerve.

— Carolyn O'Laughlin, CNN Money, 28 June 2026
While working up the nerve to kill her, Loftis discovers that Ruth is secretly the mother of his late wife Lauren (Meredith Casey), making his son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) the final descendant.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 June 2026

Definition of working up

Verb

Another interesting direction is canvas bags paired with exotic-leather pouches, creating a contrast between materials and textures.

— Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
The corals themselves are bigger than cars, their delicate arms creating a dense underwater maze.

— Lauren Sommer, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of creating

Verb

Yen is now writing a fresh draft and working out the film’s visual style.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
In a recent Instagram post, the 61-year-old supermodel shared her gym routine with her many followers, and shared working out has helped her in more ways than one.

— Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of working out

Browse Nearby Words

hammering (away)

hammering out

hammer out

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Hammering out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hammering%20out. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of hammering out

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes