There are a few images in life that are so clichéd that they can be conjured at any given point of time. One of them is of a judge striking down on his table with his gavel, the word in question and something which we have always referred to as his hammer.
Now we know a good word for that same hammer.
The dictionary definitions for Gavel are as follows:
1. A small mallet used by a presiding officer or an auctioneer to signal for attention or order or to mark the conclusion of a transaction.
2. (Mining & Quarrying) a hammer used by masons to trim rough edges off stones
3. To bring about or compel by using a gavel: “The chairman . . . tries to gavel the demonstration to an end”- New Yorker
Masters Tip to remember Gavel:
Try to conjure the image of judge and how they strike down on their table with their hammers. The hammer they carry in their hands is their gavel.
Usage Examples for Gavel:
1. There was a general burst of laughter, plentifully accented with whistlings and catcalls, but the energetic use of the gavel presently restored something like order.- Pudd’n’head Wilson by Mark Twain
2. It was a business meeting, and was transacted in English, but that made no difference to Marija; she said what was in her, and all the pounding of the chairman’s gavel and all the uproar and confusion in the room could not prevail.-The Jungle by Upton Sinclair