hamstring Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun one of the tendons at the back of the knee
    hamstring tendon.
  2. verb make ineffective or powerless
    • The teachers were hamstrung by the overly rigid schedules
  3. verb cripple by cutting the hamstring

WordNet

Ham"string` noun
Definitions
  1. (Anat.) One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.
Ham"string` transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Hamstrung; present participle & verbal noun Hamstringing See String
Definitions
  1. To lame or disable by cutting the tendons of the ham or knee; to hough; hence, to cripple; to incapacitate; to disable.
    So have they hamstrung the valor of the subject by seeking to effeminate us all at home. Milton.

Webster 1913