mangle

¹ American  

[mang-guhl] / ˈmæŋ gəl /

verb (used with object)

mangled, mangling

1. to injure severely, disfigure, or mutilate by cutting, slashing, or crushing.

   The coat sleeve was mangled in the gears of the machine.

2. to spoil or ruin; mar badly.

   The story was mangled by a clumsy translation.

   Synonyms:

   destroy, deface

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mangle ² American  

[mang-guhl] / ˈmæŋ gəl /

noun

1. a machine for smoothing or pressing clothes, household linen, etc., by means of heated rollers.

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verb (used with object)

mangled, mangling

1. to smooth or press with a mangle.

2. Metalworking. to squeeze (metal plates) between rollers.

mangle ¹ British  

/ ˈmæŋɡəl /

verb

1. to mutilate, disfigure, or destroy by cutting, crushing, or tearing

2. to ruin, spoil, or mar

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mangle ² British  

/ ˈmæŋɡəl /

noun

1. Also called: wringer.  a machine for pressing or drying wet textiles, clothes, etc, consisting of two heavy rollers between which the cloth is passed

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verb

1. to press or dry in a mangle

Related Words

See maim.

Other Word Forms

• mangled adjective
• mangler noun

Etymology

Origin of mangle¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French mangler, perhaps dissimilated variant of Old French mangonner “to mangle”; akin to mangonel

Origin of mangle²

1765–75; < Dutch mangel ≪ Late Latin manganum. See mangonel

Explanation

When you mangle something, you completely destroy it, by ripping, cutting, crushing, or otherwise mauling it into pieces. You shouldn't leave your new puppy alone in a room with your favorite shoes because he might mangle them with his sharp puppy teeth. A bad accident will mangle your bicycle, bending it beyond repair, and a paper shredder mangles a document by slicing it up. You can also use the word mangle to describe what happens when your uncle's terrible bluegrass band performs a cover of your favorite classic rock song — they mangle it.

Example Sentences

Anthony Seward was 20 when his hand was crushed in an industrial mangle - an injury that required multiple surgeries, including having the hand sewn into his abdomen to help it heal.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2023

If others want to mangle their feet and suffer back problems, that is their business.

From Washington Post • Aug. 24, 2022

Then I mangle a “merci” and step between the tables, each crowded with young tech workers speaking in euphonic blends of French and English, to a stool by the window overlooking the crowded street.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2022

To mangle the words of Bob Dylan, “The game times they are a-changin’.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2020

I threaded another wet tablecloth through the mangle to squeeze the water from it.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Related Words

• bruise
• contort
• disfigure
• distort
• hack
• impair
• lacerate
• maim
• maul
• wreck