hammed it up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They played to the paparazzi, vamping at high-profile events including the Kentucky Derby and the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner, and hammed it up in “caught off-guard” moments at the supermarket or over lunch.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
During a six-week election campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon traveled the country and hammed it up for the cameras.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
We don’t know if Nguyễn Phú Trọng, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was briefed on the age discussion in advance, but he really hammed it up for the press.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2023
The event felt like a Cold War proxy battle, Green said, but instead of getting angry, he hammed it up for the audience and coaxed laughs out of crowds.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2022
Several sailors did imitations of Cockney boys begging for a treat as Marston hammed it up as an ice cream vendor.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
