mayhems

Noun

mayhem (usually uncountable, plural mayhems)

1. (UK, historical, usually, criminal law) The criminal offence of maiming (“seriously wounding”) a person such that their ability to defend or protect themselves is weakened or completely removed; (countable) an instance of this.
   • to commit mayhem
2. (US, broadly, usually, criminal law) The criminal offence of maiming a person by depriving them of the use of any of their limbs.
   • There is a story told of a case where a notorious character was charged with the unusual crime of "mayhem"—biting off another man's finger. The defendant's counsel secured adjournment after adjournment—no one knew why. […] He [the defendant] had not a tooth in his head. The delay had been...1906, Arthur [Cheney] Train, “Tricks of the Trade”, in The Prisoner at the Bar: Sidelights on the Administration of Criminal Justice, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 316
3. (figuratively, usually) Often preceded by to cause or make: great confusion, destruction, disorder, or trouble; chaos, turmoil; (countable) an instance of this.
   • In all the mayhem, some children were separated from their parents.

   Synonyms:

   bedlam, car crash, chaos, confusion, disarray, disorder, disorganization, dog's breakfast, dog's dinner, free-for-all

4. (figuratively, usually) Violent conduct, especially the violent infliction of injury on a person or thing.
   • The fighting dogs created mayhem in the flower beds.

See all 6 meanings of mayhem