Definition of "maul" []

• A heavy, long-handled hammer used especially to drive stakes, piles, or wedges. (noun)
• A heavy hammer having a wedge-shaped head and used for splitting logs. (noun)
• Sports A play in Rugby in which a mass of players gathers around a ball carrier being tackled and attempts to gain possession of the ball when it is released. (noun)
• Sports The mass of players during such a play. (noun)
• To injure by or as if by beating: The boxer mauled the other fighter. The critics mauled the novelist's first effort. See Synonyms at batter1. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""It's no secret our maul was a good weapon for us last year but going through a Premiership season just kicking and mauling is not necessarily possible," Hayes said."
• "The defense can stop the player with the ball either by tackling him to the ground or by holding the ball-carrier on his feet (called a maul)."
• "He was instrumental in stopping their maul, which is one of their main weapons."