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HAMSTRING
hamstring, hamstring tendon
(noun) one of the tendons at the back of the knee
hamstring
(verb) cripple by cutting the hamstring
hamstring
(verb) make ineffective or powerless; “The teachers were hamstrung by the overly rigid schedules”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
hamstring (plural hamstrings)
(anatomy) One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.
(informal) The biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus muscles.
Synonym: hams
Verb
hamstring (third-person singular simple present hamstrings, present participle hamstringing, simple past and past participle hamstringed or hamstrung)
(transitive) To lame or disable by cutting the tendons of the ham or knee; to hough.
Synonyms: hock, hough, hox
(transitive, figurative) To cripple; to incapacitate; to disable. [from 1640s]
Synonyms: cripple, incapacitate, disable
Hypernyms
• See disable
Anagrams
• Stringham
Source: Wiktionary
Ham"string`, n. (Anat.)
Definition: One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.
Ham"string`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hamstrung; p. pr. & vb. n. Hamstringing. See String.]
Definition: To lame or disable by cutting the tendons of the ham or knee; to hough; hence, to cripple; to incapacitate; to disable. So have they hamstrung the valor of the subject by seeking to effeminate us all at home. Milton.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
13 February 2025
BREAK
(verb) cause the failure or ruin of; “His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage”; “This play will either make or break the playwright”
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