hamstring
Americannoun
-
hamstrings
plural
-
(in humans and other primates) any of the tendons that bound the ham of the knee.
-
(in quadrupeds) the great tendon at the back of the hock.
verb (used with object)
-
hamstrings,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hamstrung,
past participle, past
-
hamstringing
present participle
noun
-
anatomy any of the tendons at the back of the knee
-
the large tendon at the back of the hock in the hind leg of a horse, etc
verb
-
to cripple by cutting the hamstring of
-
to ruin or thwart
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hamstringsimple
-
hamstringssimple
-
have hamstrungperfect
-
has hamstrungperfect
-
am hamstringingprogressive
-
are hamstringingprogressive
-
is hamstringingprogressive
-
have been hamstringingperfect progressive
-
has been hamstringingperfect progressive
Past
-
hamstrungsimple
-
had hamstrungperfect
-
was hamstringingprogressive
-
were hamstringingprogressive
-
had been hamstringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hamstring
Explanation
Your hamstrings are groups of muscles and tendons between your hips and knees. If you pull a hamstring while running or jumping, you'll feel pain at the back of your thigh. Ouch! The hamstring muscle group is one of the most powerful in your body — attached to the knee and hip, these are the muscles and tendons that make it possible for you to run, walk, and jump. It's fairly common for athletes to injure their hamstrings and be (temporarily) immobilized. Fittingly, hamstring is also a verb meaning "render powerless." So an astronaut might complain that a lack of funding will hamstring NASA, making planned Mars voyages impossible.
Vocabulary lists containing hamstring
This Week in Words: December 1 - 7 , 2018
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!
Physical Education - Middle School and High School
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!
Planet Middle School
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:
Siya Kolisi may return to the back row after recovering from a hamstring injury, but Erasmus has also named Paul de Villiers as a back-up at blindside flanker in case Kolisi is not ready.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
He is only a tweaked hamstring away from playing in a Test at Lord's on Thursday.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Hodgkinson, fighting to recover from two hamstring tears earlier in the year, was joined by the ever-improving Hunter Bell in setting sights on the same 800m gold.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Adams was sidelined the next game and the final two games of the regular season because of a hamstring injury.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
I tried to follow his directions to the letter, but I felt a shooting pain through the front of my right quadriceps and down the back of my left hamstring.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
In practice, this means “exercises that build your butt while minimizing growth in the quads, hamstrings and thighs.”
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
Uphills exact a harsh toll on an athlete’s hamstrings, glutes and calves while spiking their heart rate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
Two torn hamstrings later, the Olympic 800m champion would not change a thing.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
If you’re sitting at a desk all day, you’re not contracting your calves, quads and hamstrings and fluid pools in the ankles due to gravity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2025
The dehydration cramped my legs so bad my hamstrings twitched.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
Cleage’s play, it must be said, is hamstrung with exposition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Private equity’s pileup of unsold investments—just shy of 33,000 companies globally worth more than $3 trillion—has hamstrung fundraising and strained relations with fund investors waiting to get money back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
The longer time you have to invest your $100,000, the more likely you won’t be hamstrung by a correction.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
What that means in the short-term is that the Federal Reserve is going to be a bit hamstrung.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
His personal charisma and innovative strategies won many battles, but as early as the fall of 1965 Fuller had already realized the need for a new organization, one less hamstrung by federal and local bureaucracies.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
“My biggest concern is that they may be hamstringing themselves in developing their model,” CFRA’s Snyder said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
Bank executives say rewards programs could drain their firms of deposits, hamstringing their ability to lend.
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
But it would take another two months for me to shake the thought of myself as an employee — an image that was hamstringing my income.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2025
He cited events such as the California wildfires, affecting rail in the state, and flooding in New York City, hamstringing the city’s critical subway system.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
You are hamstringing me and every General in the field—by suspending the death penalty of our Courts-Martial.
From A Man of the People A Drama of Abraham Lincoln by Thomas Dixon
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.
