hammerlock
noun
ham·mer·lock
| \ ˈha-mər-ˌläk
\
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Definition of hammerlock
: a wrestling hold in which an opponent's arm is held bent behind the back
broadly
: a strong hold
Examples of hammerlock in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Republicans would have a hammerlock on a nine-member Court for decades. — Scott Lemieux, The New Republic, "Democrats: Prepare to Pack the Supreme Court," 10 May 2018 The autopsy commissioned by Benjamin Crump, the Clark family lawyer, is a direct challenge to the hammerlock local authorities have on the flow of information related to the investigations of officer involved shootings. — Marcos Bretón, sacbee, "Here's another result of the Stephon Clark autopsy – cops can't investigate cops | The Sacramento Bee," 31 Mar. 2018 The hammerlock that the National Rifle Association has on American politics and culture is the problem. — Marcos Breton, sacbee, "This Monterey teacher just proved exactly why arming instructors is such a dumb idea | The Sacramento Bee," 14 Mar. 2018 In UVa's regional is Cincinnati, which owns the No. 2 seed in the South Regional , and routinely puts a hammerlock on the opposition's scorers. — Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, "March Madness 2018: Virginia is No. 1, but will it win? -- Bill Livingston," 13 Mar. 2018 His 1-22 record with the Browns is like someone has a hammerlock on his head and squeezes harder after each loss. — Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com, "Browns evacuated from London team hotel in middle of the night because of gas leak, walk-through delayed," 28 Oct. 2017 Republicans, who for more than a century were held in a hammerlock by Democrats in charge of the state’s legislature, defended the moves under the principle that turnabout is fair play. — Richard Fausset And Trip Gabriel, New York Times, "North Carolina’s Partisan Rift Widens in Fight Over Governor’s Powers," 15 Dec. 2016 The show embraces the inherent camp value of its subject and era with frosted lipstick, hammerlocks and even glimpses of a Thomas Guide. — Yvonne Villarreal, The Seattle Times, "The ’80s-set Netflix wrestling comedy ‘GLOW’ enters the TV ring with female power," 22 June 2017 Or would the lethargic Lightning make a third consecutive appearance and allow the Penguins to embarrass them once again and put a hammerlock on these Eastern Conference finals? — Tom Spousta, New York Times, "Sign Up for the Sports Newsletter," 20 May 2016These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hammerlock.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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