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

Prop Ellis Genge was sin-binned for collapsing a maul — England's eighth yellow card in the tournament — and France was awarded a penalty try. —ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026

Down four points with 70 seconds to play, and facing fourth-and-1 on Jacksonville’s 11-yard line, Buffalo called for a Josh Allen quarterback sneak, the claw-and-maul play commonly known as the tush push. —Tim Graham, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026

Verb

The men who are in the legislature’s top leadership positions maul the budget the committee chaired by two diligent women adopts after weeks of hearings and deliberations. —Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 14 Mar. 2026

Suffice it to say, sweet Amy getting mauled to death rattles everyone at the Ridge. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 13 Mar. 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