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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

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

“That sort of thing to get away from special interest groups having an ax to grind then and then, abusing the corporate governance process for their ends,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 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

Taking turns, the men crawled on hands and knees over the iced deck, hacking away with an ax.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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

From "George" by Alex Gino

“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

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

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

Sonomura’s style is volumetric; he dares himself to discover unexpected axes of movement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

One location stood out due to the discovery of about 80 grooved stone axes, which were used to break down and process ore.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2026

In a field where buzzards were flying overhead, they used metal probes and pick axes and shovels in their search for remains.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

As a necessary precaution, members of Kontos’s crew stood by the ship with axes ready to cut the ropes if the Mykali started to be dragged down.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

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

Why has the coach been axed after five Test matches?

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Dependable harvest jobs for farmworkers have been axed, as some growers can’t afford the expense of picking and storing crops they might not be able to sell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

A stage at Reading Festival which previously hosted up-and-coming musicians including Ed Sheeran and Florence + the Machine has been axed.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

That another arts program was axed, deemed “frivolous” by the school board.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Ohio, Arizona and Illinois have become less attractive after pausing or axing exemptions, said Ian Boccaccio of tax firm Ryan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 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

And old problems remain, despite axing Ruben Amorim in the wake of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Elland Road and, specifically, the emotional outburst that followed.

From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026

The cap’n’s good side had got wore down by the few questions the sheriff was axing.

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