mangle
1 Americannoun
-
mangles
plural
verb (used with object)
-
to smooth or press with a mangle.
-
Metalworking. to squeeze (metal plates) between rollers.
verb
-
to mutilate, disfigure, or destroy by cutting, crushing, or tearing
-
to ruin, spoil, or mar
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See maim.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing mangle
Ghost
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!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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!
"Marigolds"
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:
If “to toss and mangle these poor human bodies was the . . . law of Nature,” Thoreau asks us, “why waste any time in awe or pity?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
To slightly mangle Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run": the market's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance Powell drive; everybody's out on the run tonight, and there's no place left to hide.
From Reuters ● Mar. 7, 2023
Giant pumps that send water south through aqueducts mangle the critters or draw them into the grasp of lurking predators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
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
Like Bess packing her stuff and leaving didn’t mangle what was left of his broken heart.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
In 2026, though, at a time when social media too often mangles critical thinking and disagreement, it is downright extraordinary.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
If he mangles the facts or ignores them altogether, which he does often, Seales said there are other news sites and sources where viewers can fact-check him.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
Mr. Biden sometimes mangles his words and looks older than he used to because of his stiff gait and thinning voice.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2023
The radiation inflicts photochemical damage that mangles nucleic acids—inactivating pathogenic viruses and bacteria, although not necessarily killing them.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 22, 2022
It happens every wunst in a while, when you was running the mangles and was tired.
From The Long Day The Story of a New York Working Girl As Told by Herself by Dorothy Richardson
Nearby, a mangled wheelchair was left on the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Nearly a century after the crash of the Hindenburg airship, the images of towering flames and mangled metal haven’t lost their power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
For 25 years, the only physical trace Juliette Scauso had from the last day of her father's life was his mangled firefighter helmet.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Pruned flowerbeds stand in front of gutted and mangled apartment blocks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Mandrake-growers have been known to seize the leaves of one of their prize plants only to find a bloody mangled mess below owing to the attentions of a Dugbog.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Circuit Court of Appeals especially had a field day mangling this area of the law.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2026
“Steve ‘Manouychin’ really gave me a ‘beauty’ when he pushed this loser,” Trump posted on social media External link in August, apparently deliberately mangling Mnuchin’s name.
From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025
In 1812, a year of dramatic battles in North America, Europe and Russia, some Russians founded a Sonoma County outpost called Fort Ross, probably an Anglicized mangling of the word “Russ,” for Russia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2025
Often ridiculed by parliamentary sketch writers for mangling the English language, to supporters he appeared an ordinary man facing the intellectual bullying by people with a better education.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024
"Let him rest in peace. Quit mangling his corpse!"
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
