hamstring
Americannoun
-
(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)
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Physical Education - Middle School and High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Planet Middle School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
He put his body on the line while nursing a hamstring problem and started the quarter-final after illness.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Those are some way short of Yamal’s best, but they also far exceed his expected output when he suffered a severe hamstring injury in April and briefly looked doomed to miss the tournament entirely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
In the meantime, lower courts should test the limits of Slaughter by enjoining removals that hamstring agencies by denying them a quorum.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Reece James, who has trained this week after recovering from a hamstring injury, is expected to be on the bench alongside fellow full-back Djed Spence.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
I tried to follow his directions to the letter, but I felt a shooting pain through the front of my right quadriceps and down the back of my left hamstring.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
In practice, this means “exercises that build your butt while minimizing growth in the quads, hamstrings and thighs.”
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
It’s primarily the hamstrings and quadriceps, but everything, including the glutes, calves, hips and core, counts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 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
After a knee injury sustained before the Olympic final last August set her back over the winter, two torn hamstrings kept her out of action until just five weeks before the championships.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2025
“In a bit, it’ll feel good. Like your hamstrings sighing.”
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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
The carrier lost ground after a failed effort to overhaul its business-travel strategy and has been hamstrung by slowing growth in domestic air travel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
For months their intellects had been hamstrung by mystery.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
“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
Challenges to get it done include market conditions that are hamstringing other planned real estate developments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
They're hamstringing billions of dollars of cancer research by putting on leave the people who make sure that the research dollars go to cancer researchers.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2025
In the great Chicago district practically all the men struck, hamstringing the big plants in the various steel towns of that section, Gary, Joliet, Indiana Harbor, South Chicago, etc.
From The Great Steel Strike and its Lessons by Foster, William Z.
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.
