2 syllables: ham, mers. Stress on ham.
HAM-urz
/ˈhæmɚz/
hammers is pronounced HAM-urz (/ˈhæmɚz/). It has two syllables (ham-mers), with the stress on "ham". Hammers is the plural noun or verb form of hammer. As a noun, it refers to tools with a heavy head driven on a handle, used for driving nails or shaping materials. As a verb, it means to strike with a hammer or to repeatedly hit something. The stress pattern is on the first syllable: HAM-ers (ˈhæmərz).
Hammers is the plural noun or verb form of hammer. As a noun, it refers to tools with a heavy head driven on a handle, used for driving nails or shaping materials. As a verb, it means to strike with a hammer or to repeatedly hit something. The stress pattern is on the first syllable: HAM-ers (ˈhæmərz).
- You will often over-pronounce the second syllable; keep it light and unstressed: /ˈhæmərz/ rather than /ˈhæmərz/ with equal weight. • - In rapid speech, the /ər/ becomes a quick schwa; avoid a full /əː/ or /ɜː/ sound. • - Final /z/ may become /s/ in fast contexts; aim for a voiced /z/ with lip relaxation.
"The carpenter brought a box of hammers to the construction site."
"She hammers the nail into the wood until it sits flush."
"They hammers out the agreement over several long meetings."
Pronounce as /ˈhæmərz/ in US and UK, with primary stress on the first syllable. The first syllable uses the short a sound as in cat, followed by a schwa in the second syllable, and a final voiced z. Mouth position: start with a relaxed jaw, raise the front of the tongue to the /æ/ height, then move to a mid-central /ə/ for the second syllable, ending with a voiced z. Audio example you can reference: standard dictionaries or Pronounce resources.
Common errors: (1) misplacing stress, pronouncing as ha-MERS or HAM-merz; (2) producing a tense, fully pronounced second syllable instead of a reduced /ər/; (3) voicing the final /z/ as /s/ in rapid speech. Correction: keep the /ˈhæ/ stressed; use a reduced /ər/ with a relaxed jaw and soft lip rounding; finish with a clear voiced /z/. Practice with slow, then normal pace while timing the nucleus to the beat of the word.
US and UK generally share /ˈhæmərz/ with rhoticity affecting the /r/ in the second syllable; US rhotics are more pronounced than non-rhotic UK when linked, but in isolation both typically use /ˈhæmərz/. Australian often reduces the second syllable more toward /ə/ or /ɐ/ depending on formality and surrounding vowels, but remains close to /ˈhæməz/ with a voiced final consonant. Listen to regional speakers on YouGlish for context.
The difficulty lies in the multi-phoneme transition: a tense onset /hæ/ followed by a quick, unstressed reduced vowel /ər/ and a voiced final /z/. The /ər/ can slide toward a schwa or merge with /ɪ/ in rapid speech, affecting rhythm. Maintaining the correct stress on the first syllable and producing a crisp, voiced /z/ at the end while not over-articulating the middle vowel is the primary challenge.
A word with a clear first-stressed syllable can trick learners into overemphasizing the second syllable. Remember the core skeleton HAM-ers: /ˈhæm/ as a short, open /æ/ vowel, then a soft, almost schwa /ər/ in the second syllable, finishing with /z/. This pattern holds even when plural nouns are preceded by determiners or adjectives.
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- US vs UK vs AU: US tends to clearest /ˈhæmərz/ with audible /ɹ/ influence in the second syllable; UK tends toward reduced /ə/ but still voiced /z/ at the end; AU often compresses the second syllable further, giving /ˈhæməz/ or /ˈhæməz/ depending on speaker. IPA anchors: US /ˈhæmərz/, UK /ˈhæməz/ (in some accents), AU /ˈhæməz/. Use rhotic or nonrhotic cues, lip rounding minimal, and keep the jaw relaxed in /ər/.
The word hammer derives from Old English hamor, hamar, from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz, related to Old Norse hamars, Dutch hamer, and German Hammer. Historically, the noun referred to a tool with a heavy head used to strike by hand. The verb sense—‘to strike’ or ‘to pound’—emerged from the primary function of the tool. The plural form hammers follows standard English pluralization by adding -s. First attested usages trace to Old English texts where hammers described craftwork and construction tools; by Middle English, hammering as a verb denoted both the act and the tool’s function in metalworking and carpentry. Over time, metaphorical uses like “hammer out a plan” reflect the sense of forcing or shaping outcomes through persistent effort. In modern usage, hammers appear in scientific terms (engineer’s hammers), music (piano hammers), and idiomatic expressions, but the core meaning remains tied to delivering forceful impact, shaping material, or applying decisive pressure. The word thus preserved a strong association with manual action and construction throughout centuries, adapting to various specialized contexts while retaining its basic form and pluralization pattern.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "hammers" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "hammers"
-ers sounds
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