ax
or axe
an instrument with a bladed head on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping, etc.
Jazz Slang. any musical instrument.
the ax, Informal.
dismissal from employment: to get the ax.
expulsion from school.
rejection by a lover, friend, etc.: His girlfriend gave him the ax.
any usually summary removal or curtailment.
to shape or trim with an ax.
to chop, split, destroy, break open, etc., with an ax: The firemen had to ax the door to reach the fire.
Informal. to dismiss, restrict, or destroy brutally, as if with an ax: The main office axed those in the field who didn't meet their quota. Congress axed the budget.
Idioms about ax
have an ax to grind, to have a personal or selfish motive: His interest may be sincere, but I suspect he has an ax to grind.
Origin of ax
1Other words from ax
- axlike, adjective
Words Nearby ax
Other definitions for ax- (2 of 3)
variant of axi-, especially before a vowel.
Other definitions for ax. (3 of 3)
axiom.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ax in a sentence
As for those who aren’t on the final USA Basketball team, well, there are plenty of folks with an ax to grind about that.
This WNBA All-Star Team Will Have Extra Incentive To Win. Who Should Be On It? | Howard Megdal | June 22, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightThe show lasted three seasons, most recently airing in January 2021, before getting the ax.
The truck was also carrying paintball guns, shields, three bats and an ax handle, prosecutors said.
Two more tied to Proud Boys hit with conspiracy charges in Jan. 6 Capitol breach | Spencer Hsu, Emily Davies | March 26, 2021 | Washington PostThe crusty conservative battle-ax Phyllis Schlafly is giving speeches saying that Obama worships government like a god.
RFRA Madness: What’s Next for Anti-Democratic ‘Religious Exemptions’ | Jay Michaelson | November 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOne morning a few years ago, the editor left his apartment to find an ax stuck into a log on his doorstep.
The Kremlin Is Killing Echo of Moscow, Russia’s Last Independent Radio Station | Anna Nemtsova | November 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“Kasich wields his ax much less selectively than do most of his party colleagues,” the New York Times Magazine reported in 1998.
John Kasich: The GOP’s Hobbled 2016 Dark Horse | W. James Antle III | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThen, one warm summer day, Andrew and Abby were found hacked to death more than a dozen times with an ax.
Would You Stay in Lizzie Borden’s Ax-Murder House? | Nina Strochlic | October 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe ensuing night gave me the grand migraine of my life, with throbs like the blows of an ax and continuous pinwheels.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire | H.L. Mencken | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTVictor was the younger son and brother—a tete montee, with a temper which invited violence and a will which no ax could break.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinFrom somewhere in the thicket below a muffled thump, thump, thump came up to them, as though some one was wielding an ax.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsThe blows of the ax, off in the chaparral, were louder in their ears now, and they could hear a mumble of voices.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsGregory picked up an ax as he stepped back, and then stood confronting the boys threateningly.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. MatthewsThe ax was to sever the head from the lifeless body, and all the headless trunks were to be interred together.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. Abbott
Other Idioms and Phrases with ax
In addition to the idiom beginning with ax
- ax to grind
also see:
- get the ax
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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