maim

/meɪm/

/meɪm/

Other forms: maimed; maiming; maims

To maim something is to disfigure it through force or violence. Wartime battles have a tendency to maim soldiers.

The verb maim is related to mayhem, which, historically, was the act of hurting another person so badly that they couldn’t defend themselves. To maim a person or animal, even if it’s an accident, is to render them defenseless or disfigured, and it frequently includes the loss of a limb. The goal of driving defensively is to avoid an accident that could maim you, your passengers, or other people on the road.

Definitions of maim

1. verb

   injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration or mutilation
   “people were maimed by the explosion”

   types:

   mar, mutilate

   destroy or injure severely

   cripple, lame

   deprive of the use of a limb, especially a leg

   hamstring

   cripple by cutting the hamstring

   force out, gouge

   force with the thumb

   type of:

   injure, wound

   cause injuries or bodily harm to