What does hamstringing mean?
Hamstringing means disabling a person or animal by damaging or severing the hamstring tendons, the strong tendons at the back of the knee. The word is also used figuratively for preventing someone or something from acting effectively, competing, or functioning normally. A company might be accused of hamstringing its workforce through inadequate resources, while a team may deliberately hamstring an opponent's tactics. Because the literal sense concerns the tendons, the figurative use carries a forceful implication of crippling and severe obstruction. The related adjective hamstrung is more common in modern usage: a person or plan can be described as hamstrung by injury, regulation, financial problems, or institutional constraints. Although the term can sound literary or deliberately severe, it remains readily understood in British and American English and is especially effective when describing a powerful obstacle that leaves its target largely unable to move.
The act of disabling a person or animal by damaging or severing the hamstring tendons; figuratively, the act of severely limiting someone's ability to act or function.
"The report alleged the systematic hamstringing of independent regulators."
This noun is relatively uncommon; the related adjective hamstrung is often more natural.
Present participle of hamstring: to disable through injury to the hamstring tendons or, figuratively, to severely restrict someone's or something's ability to act or function.
"The company was hamstringing local services by refusing to replace retired staff."
Usually encountered in progressive verb constructions or as a gerund; the literal sense may describe disabling an animal or person, while the figurative sense is common in discussion of politics, business, and sport.
The plural is possible but uncommon, as the noun usually refers to an individual act or a collective pattern of conduct.
"The tribunal documented several deliberate hamstringings of the inquiry process."
To hamstring an opponent is to make a powerful strategic move sound like a surgical operation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hamstringing come from?
The word is based on the English compound hamstring, formed from ham, meaning the back of the knee, and string, referring to the prominent tendons in that area. The compound is recorded in Middle English, while the verb developed the sense of disabling a person or animal by damaging these tendons. Hamstringing is an -ing formation of that verb and was extended metaphorically to mean crippling someone's ability to act or function.
Related word forms
How hamstringing is actually used
The noun and the -ing verb form are less common than the related forms hamstring and hamstrung. The literal sense can be violent, while the figurative sense conveys crippling restriction or strategic obstruction. There is no major difference in usage between British and American English.
Easily confused with hamstringing
A hamstring is one of the strong tendons at the back of the knee, whereas hamstringing is the act of disabling someone through such an injury or impeding them in another way.