hatchet

[hach-it]

noun

1. a small, short-handled ax having the end of the head opposite the blade in the form of a hammer, made to be used with one hand.

2. a tomahawk.

3. hatchetfish.

verb (used with object)

1. to cut, destroy, kill, etc., with a hatchet.

2. to abridge, delete, excise, etc..

   The network censor may hatchet 30 minutes from the script.

hatchet

/ ˈhætʃɪt /

noun

1. a short axe used for chopping wood, etc

2. a tomahawk

3. (modifier) of narrow dimensions and sharp features

   a hatchet face

4. to cease hostilities and become reconciled

Other Word Forms

• hatchetlike adjective
• hatchet-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hatchet¹

1300–50; 1670–80, hatchet for def. 6; Middle English hachet < Middle French hachette, diminutive ( -et ) of hache ax < Frankish *hapja kind of knife; akin to Greek kóptein to cut ( comma, syncope )

Word History and Origins

Origin of hatchet¹

C14: from Old French hachette, from hache axe, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German happa knife

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited; make peace.

2. take up the hatchet, to begin or resume hostilities; prepare for or go to war.

   The natives are taking up the hatchet against the enemy.

More idioms and phrases containing hatchet

• bury the hatchet

Example Sentences

But in a shock move, a beleaguered Brown, suffering low polling ratings, appeared to bury the hatchet and appointed his former friend as business secretary, making him a peer at the same time.

From BBC

Noel and Liam Gallagher buried the hatchet to get back on stage for the first time in 16 years in Cardiff a week ago, and received enthusiastic reviews from ticket-holders and critics.

From BBC

The lyric "we need each other" felt like a reconciliation - or a sigh of relief - as the brothers buried the hatchet of a decades-long feud and reconnected with their fans.

From BBC

Dighton arrived at Talbot Green police station in January armed with a hatchet, a pole and Molotov cocktails.

From BBC

It was there that he was assaulted with a hatchet.

From BBC

Related Words

• machete