Definition of 'mayhem'
uncountable noun
You use mayhem to refer to a situation that is not controlled or ordered, when people are behaving in a disorganized, confused, and often violent way.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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Word Frequency
mayhem in British English
noun
1. law
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C15: from Anglo-French mahem injury, from Germanic; related to Icelandic meitha to hurt. See maimWord Frequency
mayhem in American English
noun
2.
any deliberate destruction or violence
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
see maimWord Frequency
mayhem in American English
(ˈmeihem, ˈmeiəm)
noun
1. Law
2.
random or deliberate violence or damage
3.
a state of rowdy disorder
Antagonisms between the various factions at the meeting finally boiled over, and mayhem
ensued
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1350–1400; ME maheym, maim ‹ AF mahe(i)m, mahaim ‹ Gmc; akin to MHG meidem gelding, ON meitha to injure. See maim]Examples of 'mayhem' in a sentence
mayhem
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In other languages
mayhem
British English: mayhem
NOUN /ˈmeɪhɛm/
You use mayhem to refer to a very disorganized or uncontrolled situation.
Their arrival caused mayhem as crowds of fans rushed towards them.
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Definition of mayhem from the Collins English Dictionary
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