maul
Americannoun
-
a heavy hammer, as for driving stakes or wedges.
-
Archaic. a heavy club or mace.
verb (used with object)
-
to handle or use roughly.
The book was badly mauled by its borrowers.
-
to injure by a rough beating, shoving, or the like; bruise.
to be mauled by an angry crowd.
-
to split with a maul and wedge, as a wooden rail.
verb
-
to handle clumsily; paw
-
to batter or lacerate
noun
-
a heavy two-handed hammer suitable for driving piles, wedges, etc
-
rugby a loose scrum that forms around a player who is holding the ball and on his feet
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
maulsimple
-
maulssimple
-
have mauledperfect
-
has mauledperfect
-
am maulingprogressive
-
are maulingprogressive
-
is maulingprogressive
-
have been maulingperfect progressive
-
has been maulingperfect progressive
Past
-
mauledsimple
-
had mauledperfect
-
was maulingprogressive
-
were maulingprogressive
-
had been maulingperfect progressive
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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!
Touching Spirit Bear
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!
Night
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:
After the long break, Wales kept their composure as Morgan was driven over from another rolling maul as Tandy's side found themselves in the lead.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
True to last year's script it was the women in blue who struck first, their driving maul proving unstoppable, with Sgorbini claiming the bonus-point.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Hooker Amy Cokayne rumbled over at the back of the maul, and replacement prop Sarah Bern also crashed through from close range twice.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
Wales hit back almost immediately off line-out ball, Kelsey Jones finding Bethan Lewis before joining the back of the rolling maul and dotting down.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
He could be found on fall afternoons with a rake in hand, or a splitting maul perhaps.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
"You know Maro is on your team -- he's talking to you at mauls, scrums, nominating and talking around the pitch," Heyes said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
During his Springbok tenure, the former Free State flanker, who won 37 international caps, has innovated with strokes of genius such as naming a bench with just one back and rolling mauls in open play.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2025
You would expect Talling to be tasked with combating the brilliance of De Goede, with her work at mauls a potential way to expend some of the Canadian's energy.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025
Second row Caseaux barged over after Saints had heroically repelled a pair of piledriving rolling mauls.
From BBC ● May 24, 2025
Giants lumbered amongst them, forty feet tall, with mauls the size of oak trees.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
More recently, he appeared in “Fallout” just long enough for his character to be mauled to death by a mutant bear.
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026
He treasures that trait even as he has hidden it beneath armor to avoid “being too badly mauled by the vicissitudes of life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2025
The Slovak cabinet has approved a plan to shoot around a quarter of the country's brown bears, after a man was mauled to death while walking in a forest in Central Slovakia.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2025
He mentioned the Golden Gophers having beaten conference front-runner Michigan, their excellent help defense and their having mauled USC in the paint last weekend during a victory at the Galen Center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2025
I mauled the practice exams and slept with the books under my pillow and turned my brain into a fierce machine, a buzz saw that could handle anything.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
The Spanish top seed wasted little energy in his 100th Grand Slam match with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 mauling of French showman Corentin Moutet.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
In a sport that was long defined by a handful of powerhouse programs mauling everyone in their path, Cinderella has finally crashed college football’s party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Romy is so caught up in her business that she’s nearly attacked by a dog on the street until a handsome stranger gives a whistle and stops the mauling moments before disaster.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2024
But three days on from the Australia mauling, Gatland said he has had no indication from anybody that he would not be in charge beyond the upcoming game against the Springboks.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024
Sitting there, it was easy to remember the island, the storm, the cold, the lightning, the fallen tree, the dead sparrows, and the mauling.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
