maul
[ mawl ]
/ mɔl /
noun
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.
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Also mall .
Origin of maul
1200–50; (noun) Middle English malle<Old French mail mallet, hammer <Latin malleus hammer; (v.) Middle English mallen<Old French maillier, derivative of noun
OTHER WORDS FROM maul
mauler, nounun·mauled, adjectiveWords nearby maul
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for maul
British Dictionary definitions for maul
maul
/ (mɔːl) /
verb (tr)
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
Derived forms of maul
mauler, nounWord Origin for maul
C13: from Old French mail, from Latin malleus hammer. See mallet
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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