ax

¹

Or axe

[aks]

noun

plural

axes 

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.

verb (used with object)

axed, axing 

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.

ax-

²

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

ax.

³

abbreviation

1. axiom.

Other Word Forms

• axlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ax¹

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-

Idioms and Phrases

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.

More idioms and phrases containing ax

• get the ax

Example Sentences

Up to several hundred trucks can be escorted at a time, but even with the military by their side, convoys are still frequently targeted, especially on two key southern axes.

Read more on Barron's

For years a mixture of protocol and family ties made the monarchy reluctant to fully swing the ax on Andrew, royal experts say.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

We fled late at night to stay at the house of a friend who lived nearby, returning the next morning for the included breakfast of Johnny Cakes shaped like axes.

Read more on Salon

No axes were ground in the making of “Mr. Scorsese.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He makes his trademark entry through the roofs of hamburger restaurants and other businesses, hacking out a hole with saws and drills--even an ax--and dropping in to surprise employees.

Read more on Los Angeles Times