mallet

/'mælit/

Thân thiện

A carpenter uses a wooden mallet to tap a chisel into a piece of wood.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A tool resembling a hammer but with a large head (usually wooden): A mallet is a hand tool used for striking, typically with a large, often cylindrical head made of wood, rubber, or other materials, designed to deliver force without damaging the surface being struck.
   • A light drumstick with a rounded head: In music, a mallet is a stick with a soft, rounded head used to strike percussion instruments like xylophones, marimbas, or chimes.
   • A sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer: A mallet is a long-handled club used in sports such as croquet or polo to strike a ball.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Tool):
  • Use a rubber mallet to tap the wooden pieces into place without leaving marks.
  • The sculptor used a wooden mallet to shape the stone.
• Noun (Musical Instrument):
  • The musician selected a yarn-wound mallet for the vibraphone passage.
  • Strike the chime gently with the mallet to produce a clear tone.
• Noun (Sports Equipment):
  • She swung the croquet mallet and sent the ball through the wicket.
  • The polo player's mallet connected perfectly with the ball.

Advanced Usage

• "To be under the mallet": An old phrase meaning to be up for sale at an auction (where an auctioneer uses a gavel, a type of small mallet).
  • The rare painting came under the mallet at Sotheby's.
• Technical Use: In anatomy, "mallet" can refer to "mallet finger," a deformity where the fingertip droops.
  • He suffered a mallet finger after jamming it while catching a ball.

Variants and Related Words

• Gavel (n): A small, ceremonial mallet used by a judge, auctioneer, or meeting chairperson.
  • The judge brought the gavel down to call the court to order.
• Maul (n/v): A heavy, long-handled hammer; to injure by crushing. (Note: Related but distinct; a maul is generally heavier and used for splitting wood.)
  • He used a maul to split the logs.

Synonyms

• Beetle (n): A heavy wooden tool for ramming, pounding, or crushing.
• Hammer (n): A tool with a metal head, used for driving nails. (Note: A hammer typically has a metal head, while a mallet's head is often of a softer material.)

Related Phrases

• Mallet head: Refers to the striking part of the mallet.
  • The mallet head was made of dense rubber.
• Mallet putter (Golf): A type of golf club with a distinctive, hammer-like head.
  • He prefers a mallet putter for its stability on the green.

Related Idioms

• To come down like a mallet: To act or speak with sudden, harsh force or authority.
  • The new manager came down like a mallet on the old lax policies.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a tool resembling a hammer but with a large head (usually wooden); used to drive wedges or ram down paving stones or for crushing or beating or flattening or smoothing
2. a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike such percussion instruments as chimes, kettledrums, marimbas, glockenspiels, etc.
3. a sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer; used in sports (polo or croquet) to hit a ball

Từ đồng nghĩa

• beetle
• hammer