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Definition of "hammerlock" [hammerlock]

  • A wrestling hold in which the opponent's arm is pulled behind the back and twisted upward. (noun)
  • Overwhelming dominance that is difficult if not impossible to overcome: "has preserved its hammerlock on the business largely because of its reputation for quality” ( Fortune). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "hammerlock" in a sentence
  • "Brokers don't like the fact that the combined group will have a hammerlock on Europe's futures markets—which they say makes it tougher for newcomers and raises the specter of high fees."
  • "We need to break the hammerlock of the East Coast, particularly the Ivies, on power in this country."
  • "You may despair that the rationality required to face up to reality will never overcome the fundamentalism, know-nothingism and magic thinking that has a hammerlock on our national psyche."