- a variation of ax.
axe
Britishnoun
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a hand tool with one side of its head forged and sharpened to a cutting edge, used for felling trees, splitting timber, etc See also hatchet
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an ulterior motive
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a grievance
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a pet subject
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informal
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dismissal, esp from employment; the sack (esp in the phrase get the axe )
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severe cutting down of expenditure, esp the removal of unprofitable sections of a public service
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slang any musical instrument, esp a guitar or horn
verb
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to chop or trim with an axe
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informal to dismiss (employees), restrict (expenditure or services), or terminate (a project)
Etymology
Origin of axe
Old English æx; related to Old Frisian axa, Old High German acchus, Old Norse öx, Latin ascia, Greek axinē
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last week, Volkswagen said its management and unions had agreed to axe a a total of 100,000 jobs by the end of the decade, the biggest-ever restructuring in the global auto industry.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
“Grateful to pick up the axe, and honored by the fans who made this story legendary.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Ole Miss is far from the only institution with an axe to grind with Kiffin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The group, which includes Porsche, Audi, Seat and Skoda as well as the VW brand, had previously said it would axe some 50,000 posts in Germany by 2030.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
I’d never held an actual guitar, but on a virtual axe, I could totally shred.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
