noun a tool with a heavy metal head mounted at right angles at the end of a handle, used for jobs such as breaking things and driving in nails
verb to persistently work at or criticize something
adverb in a persistent or continuous manner
Drummers hammer away at their drum set to keep the beat of the music.
Contractors often hammer away at nails to secure materials in place.
Programmers may need to hammer away at code to debug and optimize it.
Students may need to hammer away at a difficult concept to fully understand it.
Boxers hammer away at their opponent in the ring to wear them down.
Blacksmiths hammer away at hot metal to shape it into various objects.
In a writing context, 'hammer away at' can be used to describe the act of continuously working on a piece of writing, revising and editing it until it is perfected.
A psychologist might use 'hammer away at' to describe the process of consistently addressing and working through a patient's issues or challenges in therapy sessions.
A software developer may use 'hammer away at' to refer to the act of persistently debugging and fixing code until a program functions correctly.
In a sales context, 'hammer away at' could be used to describe the effort of repeatedly reaching out to potential clients or customers to make a sale.