maul

1 of 2

noun

ˈmȯl 

: 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

: beat, bruise

2

: mangle sense 1

3

: to handle roughly

mauler noun

Synonyms of maul

Verb

• abuse
• attack
• manhandle
• ambush
• maltreat
• injure
• rough (up)
• beat
• mishandle
• torture

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

Noun

Numia prevented an early Bulls lineout maul try then the All Blacks shoved the Bulls' five-meter attacking scrum backwards. — ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026

While many college corners lean on lax officiating to grab and maul, Johnson stays disciplined. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026

Verb

Also in July, in Kenai, a local resident was mauled by a brown bear that had climbed over the fence into her front yard, with its two cubs, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. — Stephen Smith, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026

The attack comes less than a month after another woman was mauled by a bear in Anchorage. — Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for maul

• ahl
• all
• aul
• bawl
• brawl
• call
• caul
• crawl
• dol
• doll
• drawl
• fall

Kids Definition

maul

1 of 2 noun

ˈmȯl 

: 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

: mangle entry 1 sense 1

3

: to handle roughly

mauler noun