mangle Definition

mangle¹
verb mangled, mangling

1. To damage or destroy something or someone by cutting, crushing, tearing, etc.

Thesaurus: mutilate, maul, twist, maim, deform, disfigure, distort, crush.
2. To spoil, ruin or bungle something.

Example: He mangled his opening lines

Derivative: mangled
adj

Derivative: mangler
noun

Etymology: 15c: from French mangler, probably from mahaigner to maim.

---

mangle²
noun

1. dated
A device, usually hand-operated, that consists of two large heavy rotating rollers which have wet laundry fed between them in order to squeeze most of the water out. Also called wringer.
(especially US)
2. A machine that presses laundry by passing it between two large heated rollers.

verb

mangled, mangling
1. To pass (laundry, etc) through a mangle.

Etymology: 18c: from Dutch mangel, ultimately from Greek manganon a type of war machine.