maul

1 of 2

noun

: 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
2
3
: to handle roughly
mauler noun

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
John Franklin-Myers mauls RT Rosengarten and gets sack, knocking Baltimore out of FG position. Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 3 Nov. 2024 Cama’s 7-point try box came in the 74th minute and was a result of the Legion muscling their way to a series of successful scrums, mauls and rucks before Cama punched it over inside the 5-meter line area. Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
Verb
Behind him, a 3-month-old calf that had been mauled by wolves the night before lay in the grass with deep wounds on its flanks. Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2025 Kansas adopted stricter laws on exotic animal ownership following the 2005 death of 17-year-old Hailey Hilderbrand, who was mauled by a 700-pound Siberian tiger while posing for a photo at the Lost Creek Sanctuary in Labette County, Kansas. J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for maul

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of maul was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Maul.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maul. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

maul

1 of 2 noun
: 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
3
: to handle roughly
mauler noun

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