maul

1 of 2

noun

: a heavy often wooden-headed hammer used especially for driving wedges
also : a tool like a sledgehammer with one wedge-shaped end that is used to split wood

maul

2 of 2

verb

mauled; mauling; mauls

transitive verb

1
2
3
: to handle roughly
mauler noun

Examples of maul in a Sentence

Verb A bear killed one hiker and badly mauled the other. demonstrators who claimed that they had been mauled by the police
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
John Franklin-Myers mauls RT Rosengarten and gets sack, knocking Baltimore out of FG position. Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 3 Nov. 2024 Cama’s 7-point try box came in the 74th minute and was a result of the Legion muscling their way to a series of successful scrums, mauls and rucks before Cama punched it over inside the 5-meter line area. Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
Verb
The late-night host weighed in on a collection of increasingly outrageous political headlines during his Jimmy Kimmel Live monologue on Monday, including conservative commentator Tucker Carlson’s recent admission that he was mauled by a demon while in bed with his wife and their four dogs. EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024 An overdue hunter was found dead after he was mauled by a bear in Alaska, authorities said. Stephen Smith, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for maul 

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English malle mace, maul, from Anglo-French mail, from Latin malleus; akin to Old Church Slavic mlatŭ hammer, Latin molere to grind — more at meal

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of maul was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near maul

Cite this Entry

“Maul.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maul. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

maul

1 of 2 noun
: a heavy hammer often with a wooden head used especially for driving wedges or posts

maul

2 of 2 verb
1
: to beat and bruise severely
2
3
: to handle roughly
mauler noun

More from Merriam-Webster on maul

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!