maul
Americannoun
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a heavy hammer, as for driving stakes or wedges.
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Archaic. a heavy club or mace.
verb (used with object)
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to handle or use roughly.
The book was badly mauled by its borrowers.
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to injure by a rough beating, shoving, or the like; bruise.
to be mauled by an angry crowd.
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to split with a maul and wedge, as a wooden rail.
verb
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to handle clumsily; paw
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to batter or lacerate
noun
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a heavy two-handed hammer suitable for driving piles, wedges, etc
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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
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maulsimple
-
maulssimple
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have mauledperfect
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has mauledperfect
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am maulingprogressive
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are maulingprogressive
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is maulingprogressive
-
have been maulingperfect progressive
-
has been maulingperfect progressive
Past
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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
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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
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
The opening scores came through his pack as Cokayne, who started and scored in the World Cup final, finished off the back of a rampaging maul and Bern powered over from close range.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Ellis Genge was dispatched to the sin-bin seat of shame in Paris, adjudged to have cynically dragged down a France driving maul that was destined for the line.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
But Leathers pointed at the trees and said something else, and the giant pointed at the trees, ground his teeth, and dropped his maul.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
England have seeped points, looking vulnerable to sniping runs around the edge of the breakdown and to driven mauls.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
"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
Flanker Underhill then showed his power for the second week in a row close to the try-line to extend the lead, before captain George dotted down twice from rampaging mauls.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2024
The rest seemed to be armed with spears and mauls.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
She went on to be the UN rights chief, a sensitive role in which she alienated some countries, especially China, which mauled her for reporting on Beijing's alleged abuses of the country's Uyghur minority group.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
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
A man in Canada's far north leapt on to a polar bear to protect his wife from being mauled, police say.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2024
‘But I will not go into any orc-house; nor touch Orcs’ meat or anything that they have mauled.’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Despite the scale of the electoral mauling no immediate move was made to challenge his leadership and cabinet colleagues appeared to publicly rally round.
From Barron's ● May 9, 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
While some gleefully joined in the mauling, others were attracted to the film like moths to a flame.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2025
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
That was when he relived the nightmare of the mauling and felt the ache of being alone, the fear, and yes, still, the anger.
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.
