hamstring
Americannoun
-
hamstrings
plural
-
(in humans and other primates) any of the tendons that bound the ham of the knee.
-
(in quadrupeds) the great tendon at the back of the hock.
verb (used with object)
-
hamstrings,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hamstrung,
past participle, past
-
hamstringing
present participle
noun
-
anatomy any of the tendons at the back of the knee
-
the large tendon at the back of the hock in the hind leg of a horse, etc
verb
-
to cripple by cutting the hamstring of
-
to ruin or thwart
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hamstringsimple
-
hamstringssimple
-
have hamstrungperfect
-
has hamstrungperfect
-
am hamstringingprogressive
-
are hamstringingprogressive
-
is hamstringingprogressive
-
have been hamstringingperfect progressive
-
has been hamstringingperfect progressive
Past
-
hamstrungsimple
-
had hamstrungperfect
-
was hamstringingprogressive
-
were hamstringingprogressive
-
had been hamstringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hamstring
Explanation
Your hamstrings are groups of muscles and tendons between your hips and knees. If you pull a hamstring while running or jumping, you'll feel pain at the back of your thigh. Ouch! The hamstring muscle group is one of the most powerful in your body — attached to the knee and hip, these are the muscles and tendons that make it possible for you to run, walk, and jump. It's fairly common for athletes to injure their hamstrings and be (temporarily) immobilized. Fittingly, hamstring is also a verb meaning "render powerless." So an astronaut might complain that a lack of funding will hamstring NASA, making planned Mars voyages impossible.
Vocabulary lists containing hamstring
This Week in Words: December 1 - 7 , 2018
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Physical Education - Middle School and High School
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Planet Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
Delap's struggles at Chelsea have been underpinned by three managerial changes and hamstring and shoulder injuries, but also difficulties adjusting to a different gameplan.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Her spine and hamstring were injured in the course of the chase, the district attorney’s office said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
After suffering hamstring and knee injuries over the past few years, Hodgkinson skipped the Commonwealth Games to prioritise the European Championships amid a busy summer schedule.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Still, Fofana says "small details" have helped him stay fit having broken his leg at Leicester before overcoming an ACL injury and hamstring surgery at Chelsea.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
For hamstring stretches, one person lies on the grass on his back with his leg straight up, while the other person leans in and slowly presses the leg a little higher.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
In practice, this means “exercises that build your butt while minimizing growth in the quads, hamstrings and thighs.”
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
Uphills exact a harsh toll on an athlete’s hamstrings, glutes and calves while spiking their heart rate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
Two torn hamstrings later, the Olympic 800m champion would not change a thing.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
Do these exercises to help stretch and strengthen your hips and hamstrings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
“In a bit, it’ll feel good. Like your hamstrings sighing.”
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
With Farage no longer an MP and fighting his own by-election in Clacton in Essex - he is hamstrung when it comes to devoting as much time and energy to Greater Manchester.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The midseason trades helped the Clippers start replenishing their draft capital after the blockbuster move that brought Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to L.A. in 2019 hamstrung their assets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
The Dutch Restitution Committee, which advises on looted Nazi art, is also hamstrung as it cannot compel private individuals to return artworks.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
The longer time you have to invest your $100,000, the more likely you won’t be hamstrung by a correction.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
His personal charisma and innovative strategies won many battles, but as early as the fall of 1965 Fuller had already realized the need for a new organization, one less hamstrung by federal and local bureaucracies.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
“My biggest concern is that they may be hamstringing themselves in developing their model,” CFRA’s Snyder said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
Bank executives say rewards programs could drain their firms of deposits, hamstringing their ability to lend.
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
But it would take another two months for me to shake the thought of myself as an employee — an image that was hamstringing my income.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2025
In states including California and Colorado, property tax limits have been blamed for hamstringing local governments.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 21, 2024
Genius is too apt to think herself independent of form and matter—never was there such a mistake; she cannot slight either without hamstringing herself.
From On the Old Road Vol. 1 (of 2) A Collection of Miscellaneous Essays and Articles on Art and Literature by John Ruskin
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.
