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• ax
  ax

  noun

  an instrument with a bladed head on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping, etc.
• ax-
  ax-

  variant of axi-, especially before a vowel.
• ax.
  ax.

  abbreviation

  axiom.

ax

¹ American  

[aks] / æks /

Or axe

noun

• axes
  plural

1. an instrument with a bladed head on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping, etc.

2. Jazz Slang. any musical instrument.

3. Informal. the ax,

   1. dismissal from employment.

      to get the ax.

   2. expulsion from school.

   3. rejection by a lover, friend, etc..

      His girlfriend gave him the ax.

   4. any usually summary removal or curtailment.

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verb (used with object)

• axes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• axed,
  past participle,  past
• axing
  present participle

1. to shape or trim with an ax.

2. to chop, split, destroy, break open, etc., with an ax.

   The firemen had to ax the door to reach the fire.

3. 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

1. 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.

ax- ² American  

1. variant of axi-, especially before a vowel.

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ax. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. axiom.

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ax More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing ax

• get the ax

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• axlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• axes
  plural

Participles

• axing
  present
• axed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ax
  simple
• axes
  simple
• have axed
  perfect
• has axed
  perfect
• am axing
  progressive
• are axing
  progressive
• is axing
  progressive
• have been axing
  perfect progressive
• has been axing
  perfect progressive

Past

• axed
  simple
• had axed
  perfect
• was axing
  progressive
• were axing
  progressive
• had been axing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ax
  simple
• will have axed
  perfect
• will be axing
  progressive
• will have been axing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ax

before 1000; Middle English; ax ( e ), ex ( e ), Old English æx, æces; akin to Gothic aquizi, Old Norse øx, ǫx, Old High German acc ( h ) us, a ( c ) kus ( German Axt ), Middle High German plural exa < Germanic *akwiz-, akuz-, aksi- ≪ *ákəs, áks-; Latin ascia (< *acsiā ), Greek axī́nē; < Indo-European *ag-s-

Explanation

An ax is a sharp tool for cutting wood. When you split logs, you hold the handle, swing the ax into the air, and let the blade fall on the wood. Most axes have a long wooden handle connected to a blade made of sharpened steel. An ax is a useful tool to own if you have a wood stove or are building a campfire. You can also spell the word with an e at the end: axe. As a verb, to ax means to fire someone from a job: "He was late so many times that I finally had to ax him."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ax ax. axes axed axing

She walks around her Boston home and plucks up a fan-made crocheted rabbit toting an ax.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

In 2003, the government of then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder took an ax to unemployment benefits, gave employers more say in setting wages and lowered taxes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

Disney is preparing to ax as many as 1,000 positions in the next few weeks, The Wall Street Journal External link reported late Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026

If U.S. regulators really don’t want the country’s biggest filmed content streamer to own HBO and Warner’s studios, then they’ll ax the Netflix deal.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 12, 2026

High John’s ax went to work on the hullbeast.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

“This time, if I win, you marry Vicky. One, two, three . . .” “Snake swallows ax. I win again! So long to Vicky.”

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

“I ain’t got no ax. I’m strictly a bass man. Da-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum.”

From "George" by Alex Gino

The motor-cell body, with protoplasmic processes, axis cylinder, side fibrils or collaterals, and end ramifications, represents parts of a neuron. a. h., axon hillock devoid of Nissl bodies, showing fibrillation; ax., axon.

From Psychotherapy by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh

But they were pushed back this week, and the government launched a counter-offensive into Tigrayan territory along three axes towards Mekelle, according to the Critical Threats Project, part of the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

By combining measurements taken along the axes of the jets, the team searched for H-alpha, a characteristic signature of ionized hydrogen gas.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

It is his Excalibur, his Andúril, the vaunted weapon only he can string and use to hit a bullseye through a row of twelve crossed axes.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

These electronically damped wheeled selectors offer three axes of input, using microtorque feedback to imitate the bump and tug of physical detents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

Swords, daggers, spears, sickles, axes, and some weapons Anya couldn’t even name were mounted on the walls, covering every inch of space.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 said 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday had already been axed, following 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports a day before.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Shaw's team had axed their plans to camp out at Java's Ujung Kulon National Park after authorities raised its alert level for the Anak Krakatau volcano.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Since taking over, Warsh has axed so-called "forward guidance" on the likely direction of Fed policy and called for the central bank to communicate less on its decision-making process.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

On day one, Mr. Burnham already axed Keir Starmer’s unpopular digital ID plan and promised a more devolved government.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

The cap’n axed the first white people we seent where the sheriff’s office was.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

South Ayrshire Council is axing the diving programme and shutting down the only diving pool on the west side of the country.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

With logistics-software provider WiseTech axing more than a quarter of its staff on AI-driven efficiencies, the Jarden analysts take a look at possible impacts of similar potential moves elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week seemed to come the closest a Cabinet official has come to a Trump axing this term.

From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2026

In the meantime, the domestic club game is in crisis with the Welsh Rugby Union keen on axing one of the four professional teams competing in the United Rugby Championship to save money.

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

Pa said, “All I’m axing is that you don’t send Zephariah alone with all that money. Let’s get someone else to ride ’longside him, someone we all trust.”

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis