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
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have mauledperfect
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has mauledperfect 3rd person singular
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is maulingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been maulingperfect progressive
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maulingparticiple
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has been maulingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are maulingprogressive
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maulssingular 3rd person
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am maulingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had mauledperfect
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was maulingprogressive singular
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had been maulingperfect progressive
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mauledsimple
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were maulingprogressive plural
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mauledparticiple
Future
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
Explanation
Maul is both the name of a heavy hammer, and also a verb meaning beating and scratching. Tigers, lions, bears––animals with powerful paws and sharp claws, will maul their victims. The maul came to be used as a weapon in the late Middle Ages––if your opponent is wearing armor that a steel sword-blade can't penetrate, you can still inflict damage by mauling them with a hammer. You might not be able to stab your opponent, but at least you can maul them.
Vocabulary lists containing maul
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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.
An unstoppable rolling maul was finished by Erdocio, and the champions-in-waiting had their seventh try, while Leo Coly picked up where Miotti left off with his first conversion of the game.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
The opening scores came through his pack as Cokayne, who started and scored in the World Cup final, finished off the back of a rampaging maul and Bern powered over from close range.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Quins had been warned over repeated infringements by referee Luc Ramos and when Will Evans was sin-binned, Sale took full advantage as Cowan-Dickie rumbled over at the back of a line-out maul.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
Ellis Genge was dispatched to the sin-bin seat of shame in Paris, adjudged to have cynically dragged down a France driving maul that was destined for the line.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026
“This is a holy place. Yield, and we—” The giant bellowed again, a sound that shook the leaves in the trees, and slammed his maul against the ground.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
