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

The half ended with the Free Jacks once again putting the Sabercats under pressure, trying to force their way over the tryline through a rolling maul, and twice failing to score. —Vitas Carosella, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025

Minutes later, Hanover scored back-to-back tries with near identical mauls down the sideline. —Marcello Rossetti, Boston Herald, 14 June 2025

Verb

The botanical zoo, which is home to hundreds of animal species, confirmed Machado, 19, was mauled to death in a news release shared on Instagram. —Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 1 Dec. 2025

The child, found mauled in a sugarcane field, died on the way to hospital. —CBS News, 1 Dec. 2025

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