maul

[mawl]

noun

1. a heavy hammer, as for driving stakes or wedges.

2. Archaic.,  a heavy club or mace.

verb (used with object)

1. to handle or use roughly.

   The book was badly mauled by its borrowers.

2. to injure by a rough beating, shoving, or the like; bruise.

   to be mauled by an angry crowd.

3. to split with a maul and wedge, as a wooden rail.

maul

/ mɔːl /

verb

1. to handle clumsily; paw

2. to batter or lacerate

noun

1. a heavy two-handed hammer suitable for driving piles, wedges, etc

2. rugby a loose scrum that forms around a player who is holding the ball and on his feet

Other Word Forms

• mauler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of maul¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of maul¹

C13: from Old French mail, from Latin malleus hammer. See _mallet

Example Sentences

The Yemeni Houthis have been severely mauled by Israeli air power, with little to show for their many attempts to attack the Jewish state.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Two of Scotland's best - Aaron Hickey and Ben Gannon-Doak - restored having missed the March mauling.

Read more on BBC

Tyrese Gibson faces one charge of cruelty to animals stemming from a September incident in Fulton County, Ga., that left a neighbor’s 5-year-old dog mauled and dead.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Cokayne scoring off a driving maul was the opposite in terms of star quality to the first try, but was just as important.

Read more on BBC

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.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• beat up 
• bludgeon 
• drub 
• lacerate 
• molest 
• mug 
• pummel 
• rough up 
• thrash 
• trample