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Mayhem Has Legal Roots
Legally speaking, mayhem refers to the gruesome crime of deliberately causing an injury that permanently disfigures another. The name derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb maheimer ("to maim") and is probably of Germanic origin; the English verb maim comes from the same ancestor. The disfigurement sense of mayhem first appeared in English in the 15th century. By the 19th century the word had come to mean any kind of violent behavior; nowadays, mayhem can be used to suggest any kind of chaos or disorder, as in "there was mayhem in the streets during the citywide blackout."
Examples of mayhem in a Sentence
Natasha Korecki, NBC news, 14 Feb. 2026
In a race to find out who caused this marital mayhem, emotions will be high, inhibitions will be low, and everyone will have access to an open bar.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
At the center of all this drama, action and mayhem is the always enthusiastic Donaldson, who launched to international fame over 10 years ago by creating YouTube videos with elaborate challenges for himself and for others, often with cash rewards.
—Jim Halterman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Soon, Hegseth jumped on the Harvard-bashing train, a kind of me-too move similar to the secretary’s clumsy attempts to involve himself in the administration’s immigration mayhem in Minnesota.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mayhem
Cite this Entry
“Mayhem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mayhem. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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Medical Definition
California Statewide Law Enforcement Association Legal Definition
mayhem
noun
Note: Under the Model Penal Code and the codes of the states that follow it, mayhem is encompassed by assault and aggravated assault.
Anglo-French mahaim, mahain, literally, mutilation, from Old French mahain, from mahaignier to injure, mutilate
