hammer out

verb7

1. •
   To flatten and shape (metal) by hammering.

   • A smith hammers out iron on an anvil.
2. •
   (figurative) To create or develop (an idea, plan, piece of writing, etc.) with effort.

   • It took me all night to hammer out the first draft of my essay.
3. •
   (figurative) To come to (a difficult agreement or settlement) after much arguing and conflict.

   • Two years after the flood, my lawyer managed to hammer out a settlement with my insurance company over the damages.
4. •
   To create (something) by hammering metal; to repair (something made of metal that has become bent or dented) by hammering.

   • I watched a tinsmith hammer out a funnel.
   • The fender was so badly damaged that it couldn’t be hammered out.
5. •
   To produce (a sound or signal) by hammering.

   • The kids are forever hammering out “Heart and Soul” on the piano.
6. •
   To type (something) on a keyboard.

   • Mrs. F. sitting at the desk, her pretty head bent over the typewriter, demurely hammering out the most hair-raising things that a man might do to a woman, or vice versa — 1954
7. •
   To remove (something tightly in place) by hammering.

   • The bolt wouldn’t budge so she tried hammering it out.