axe

British  

/ æks /

noun

1. 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

2. 1. an ulterior motive

   2. a grievance

   3. a pet subject

3. informal

   1. dismissal, esp from employment; the sack (esp in the phrase get the axe )

   2. severe cutting down of expenditure, esp the removal of unprofitable sections of a public service

4. slang any musical instrument, esp a guitar or horn

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verb

1. to chop or trim with an axe

2. 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

The sharp axe of member-driven justice may not end there, as the House returned to a bevy of simmering misdeeds following its two-week recess.

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

The future Peaches eventually strapped on an electric axe, then found she could do everything a band could do by herself, using electronics.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

This includes not having suitable clothing and equipment, like crampons and an ice axe, not checking and fully understanding the weather forecast, like which wind speeds are too strong, and not navigating properly, he says.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

Speaking after Wednesday's stalemate, a gloomy Dyche acknowledged his job was in peril, and that volatile owner Evangelos Marinakis could well decide to swing the axe.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

My father found an axe in the tool shed and gave it to me.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Related Words

• consume
• crush
• damage
• dismantle
• end
• eradicate
• gut
• impair
• kill
• maim
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• smash
• smash-up
• wipe out
• wreck