hatchet
Americannoun
-
hatchets
plural
-
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.
-
a tomahawk.
verb (used with object)
-
to cut, destroy, kill, etc., with a hatchet.
-
to abridge, delete, excise, etc..
The network censor may hatchet 30 minutes from the script.
idioms
-
bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited; make peace.
-
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.
noun
-
a short axe used for chopping wood, etc
-
a tomahawk
-
(modifier) of narrow dimensions and sharp features
a hatchet face
-
to cease hostilities and become reconciled
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hatchet
1300–50; 1670–80, hatchet for def. 6; Middle English hachet < Middle French hachette, diminutive ( see -et) of hache ax < Frankish *hapja kind of knife; akin to Greek kóptein to cut ( cf. comma, syncope)
Explanation
A hatchet is a little ax used for chopping wood or for hewing a round log into a squared-off shape. If you go camping, you might take a hatchet with you. If someone hands you a hatchet and tells you to start splitting a pile of firewood, they expect you to chop each log into smaller pieces. The difference between a hatchet and an ax is that hatchets have short handles and are meant to be held in one hand. Axes have longer handles for two-handed chopping. If someone wants to "bury the hatchet," it's not a threat—they just want to end an argument and be friends.
Vocabulary lists containing hatchet
Hatchet
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Train Time," Vocabulary from the short story
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The River
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
No media hatchet man could come up with a more damaging word to describe what happened out there.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The hatchet burial has been brewing for a while.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
The government took a hatchet to its payrolls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
But wanting to remind folks that he could still be funny, he decided to bury the hatchet with “Saturday Night Live,” returning to host in 2019: “‘SNL’ is part of my history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
Something came then, a thought as he held the hatchet, something about the dream and his father and Terry, but he couldn’t pin it down.
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
The documentary closes on a similar note: Take That are national treasures, their reputation is secure, their hatchets are buried.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2026
Alan recalls exposed wooden beams that were notched with hatchets to achieve a hand-cut look, the original embossed-leather wallpaper and the solid two-inch oak front door that “took a lot of work” to open.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2022
When agents stopped a truck going through a Border Patrol highway checkpoint in Texas earlier this month they found 70 illegal immigrants in the semi-trailer — and walkie-talkie and two hatchets.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2022
The sound of hatchets resonates across the field: thwack, thwack, thwack.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2021
Whereupon a mile and a half of blundering fishermen went berserk, jumping into the stream and charging after the prey with everything except hatchets and hand grenades.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
