Definition

Noun: 1. A siege engine: A heavy beam, historically often with a metal head, used in warfare to break through doors, gates, or walls by repeated impact. 2. A tool for forced entry: Any similar device used by law enforcement or rescue services to force open a locked or barricaded door.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The ancient army used a massive battering ram to breach the castle gate.
  • Police officers deployed a small, handheld battering ram to enter the building during the emergency.

Advanced Usage

• Metaphorical use: Can describe a relentless, forceful strategy or argument intended to overcome resistance.
  • His repeated complaints acted as a battering ram against the company's policies, eventually leading to change.

Variants and Related Words

• Ram (noun/verb): The core action of striking with force. As a noun, it can refer to the animal, a part of a machine, or the act of striking.
• Siege engine (noun phrase): A broader category of historical weapons used to attack fortifications, which includes battering rams, catapults, and trebuchets.

Synonyms

• Breaching tool
• Siege ram

Related Phrases

• "Like a battering ram" (simile): Used to describe an approach or force that is direct, powerful, and unstoppable.
  • The storm surge hit the seawall like a battering ram.

Noun

1. a ram used to break down doors of fortified buildings