maul
Americannoun
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a heavy hammer, as for driving stakes or wedges.
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Archaic. a heavy club or mace.
verb (used with object)
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to handle or use roughly.
The book was badly mauled by its borrowers.
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to injure by a rough beating, shoving, or the like; bruise.
to be mauled by an angry crowd.
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to split with a maul and wedge, as a wooden rail.
verb
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to handle clumsily; paw
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to batter or lacerate
noun
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a heavy two-handed hammer suitable for driving piles, wedges, etc
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rugby a loose scrum that forms around a player who is holding the ball and on his feet
Other Word Forms
- mauler noun
Etymology
Origin of maul
First recorded in 1200–50; (noun) Middle English malle, from Old French mail “mallet, hammer,” from Latin malleus “hammer”; (verb) Middle English mallen, from Old French maillier, derivative of noun
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.
A woman who was mauled by a dog at a Los Angeles city animal shelter has been awarded $5.4 million by a jury.
From Los Angeles Times
"You know Maro is on your team -- he's talking to you at mauls, scrums, nominating and talking around the pitch," Heyes said.
From Barron's
“He’s back with the show. Getting mauled is no big deal.”
From Literature
Thanks to his obliviousness, he and George had been ruthlessly mauled.
From Literature
More recently, he appeared in “Fallout” just long enough for his character to be mauled to death by a mutant bear.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
