mallet

/ˈmælət/

/ˈmælɪt/

Other forms: mallets

A mallet is a tool with a large, barrel-shaped, head — used to pound on something. You might use a mallet to strike an instrument or in playing croquet. Yeah, right.

A mallet is a long-handled implement with a barrel-shaped head used in games like croquet or polo. In music, a mallet is a stick with a rounded end that is sometimes padded, used to strike percussion instruments like timpani, bells, or a marimba. Use your yarn or rubber mallets to play the marimba, and use your wooden mallets to play the xylophone.

Definitions of mallet

1. noun

   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
   synonyms: beetle

   types:

   carpenter's mallet

   a short-handled mallet with a wooden head used to strike a chisel or wedge

   gavel

   a small mallet used by a presiding officer or a judge

   type of:

   hammer

   a hand tool with a heavy rigid head and a handle; used to deliver an impulsive force by striking
2. noun

   a sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer; used in sports (polo or croquet) to hit a ball
   types:

   croquet mallet

   a mallet used to strike the ball in croquet

   polo mallet, polo stick

   a mallet used to strike the ball in polo

   type of:

   sports implement

   an implement used in a sport
3. noun

   a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike such percussion instruments as chimes, kettledrums, marimbas, glockenspiels, etc.
   synonyms: hammer

   type of:

   drumstick

   a stick used for playing a drum