maul
/mɔːl/ noun, verb
Forms mauls mauling mauled
- noun A heavy long-handled hammer, used for splitting logs by driving a wedge into them, or in combat.
- noun (rugby) A situation where the player carrying the ball, who must be on his feet, is held by one or more opponents, and one or more of the ball carrier's team mates bind onto the ball carrier.
- noun (botany) The fruit of the Washingtonia species.
- verb To handle someone or something in a rough way.
- verb (usually of an animal) To savage; to cause serious physical wounds. “The bear mauled him in a terrible way.”
- verb (figuratively) To criticise harshly. “The latest film by the Cohen brothers was mauled by the press, and was a box-office flop to boot.”
- verb (transitive) To beat with a maul.
- verb (sex, slang) To play rough, to fondle intensively.
Synonyms
club mace abuse mishandle misuse harm wound annoy bewound damage damnify dere do damage to do for do ill do violence to forwork grieve harrow hurt sledge sledgehammer mangle
Etymology
From Middle English malle (“mace, maul”), from Anglo-Norman mail, from Old French mail, from Latin malleus (“hammer”). Doublet of malleus.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A heavy wooden hammer or beetle. [Written also mall.]
- verb To beat and bruise with a heavy stick or cudgel; to wound in a coarse manner.
- verb To injure greatly; to do much harm to. It mauls not only the person misrepreseted, but him also to whom he is misrepresented. South.
Etymology [See Mall a hammer.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “maul”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details