maul

1 of 3

noun (1)

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 3

verb

mauled; mauling; mauls

transitive verb

1

: beat, bruise

2

: mangle sense 1

3

: to handle roughly

mauler noun

mauler

3 of 3

noun (2)

maul·​er

ˈmȯlə(r)

plural -s

: one that mauls: such as

a

: a splitter of rails

b

slang : fist

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

Despite losing winger Francesca Granzotto to the sin-bin for a tip tackle, Italy secured victory when the pack walked a maul 15 meters and laid on a try for player-of-the-match flyhalf Veronica Madia with 11 minutes left. —ABC News, 17 May 2026

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

Verb

The singer, 37, was set to take the stand in the case brought against him by his housekeeper, who alleged one of Brown's dogs mauled her sister in 2020. —Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 16 June 2026

Chris Brown was seated at the defense table in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday, poised to testify at his dog-mauling trial, when the judge declared a mistrial due to juror misconduct. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) 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 (1)

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