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hamshackle

verb

To tie (an animal) by a rope binding the head to one of the forelegs.

“to hamshackle a horse or cow”

Similar

curtail repress behedge guard govern smother bind chasten

Scrabble 24

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Meanings

verbhamshackle (third-person singular simple present hamshackles, present participle hamshackling, simple past and past participle hamshackled)

present singular third person hamshackles · participle present hamshackling · participle past hamshackled · past hamshackled

transitiveTo tie (an animal) by a rope binding the head to one of the forelegs.
to hamshackle a horse or cow
figurativelytransitiveTo bind or restrain; to impose restrictions upon.
Not only are our sources, indicating the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, limited, but we are also hamshackled by certain time constraints.
2010, Steven Ortlepp, Introduction to the Interlinear Bible, page 180
Synonyms: curtail, repress, behedge, guard, govern, smother, bind, chasten

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo bind or restrain; to impose restrictions upon.

Similar

curtail repress behedge guard govern smother bind chasten choke back check inhibit catch contain vanquish cork curb quench quell bury curtail

Also see

Origin

From ham + shackle.

Full word history & related roots →

Cite this entry

APA

hamshackle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamshackle

MLA

“hamshackle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamshackle. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hamshackle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamshackle.

Source: hamshackle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.