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View synonyms for hamstring

hamstring

[ ham-string ]

noun

  1. (in humans and other primates) any of the tendons that bound the ham of the knee.
  2. (in quadrupeds) the great tendon at the back of the hock.


verb (used with object)

, ham·strung, ham·string·ing.
  1. to disable by cutting the hamstring or hamstrings.

    Synonyms: lame, hock, disable, cripple

  2. to render powerless or useless; thwart:

    Their efforts were hamstrung by stubborn pride.

hamstring

/ ˈhæmˌstrɪŋ /

noun

  1. anatomy any of the tendons at the back of the knee popliteal
  2. the large tendon at the back of the hock in the hind leg of a horse, etc


verb

  1. to cripple by cutting the hamstring of
  2. to ruin or thwart

hamstring

/ hămstrĭng′ /

  1. A powerful group of muscles at the back of the thigh that arise in the hip and pelvis and insert as strong tendons behind the knee. The hamstring bends the knee and helps to straighten the hip.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of hamstring1

First recorded in 1555–65; ham 1 + string

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Word History and Origins

Origin of hamstring1

C16: ham 1+ string

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Example Sentences

Downward dog also targets multiple muscle groups, including the shoulders, mid-back and hamstrings, Welton says.

This occasionally leads to cramps, but while a weird kink in my hamstring once may have earned me a rest day, try explaining an exercise-free morning to a puppy.

When Sara started the trail, she could barely run ten minutes at a time, due to a hamstring injury.

New York is trending in the opposite direction, with three straight losses and starter Daniel Jones struggling while battling a hamstring injury.

Jones had been listed as questionable on the Giants’ injury report after missing their previous game with his ankle and hamstring injuries.

Feinstein worried that this language might hamstring American foreign policy decision makers as a result.

Try single leg curls to really test your hamstring and glute strength.

Miranda Green on whether a federal law is needed—or will hamstring cops.

What madness, then, for the ex-speaker to hamstring himself by pledging not to go negative.

Following this, at the other end of the gym, Keith handed me a pole for hamstring extensions.

Cuts out the hamstring—No satisfactory reason has been obtained for this custom, which has been noted for more than a century.

Come, butchers, march down our streets; the children will hamstring you with their little knives.

While one Wolf was in front, the other would try to get in the rear of the Caribou and hamstring it.

They generally aimed at the breast of the bull, or tried to hamstring it as soon as possible.

It certainly would not have taken him more than two minutes to hamstring the stoutest man in the party.

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hamster wheelhamstrung