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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

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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-

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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

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

In addition to clothing that protects against the wind and cold, anyone attempting to climb steep terrain covered in snow and ice should have mountaineering boots, heavy metal crampons and an ice ax.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026

Waiting for that ax to fall so I could walk away with no forgiveness in my heart.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

“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

This technology is known for large tools shaped on both sides, including hand axes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

Crash axes are stored on aircraft to be used in an emergency to either fight fires or cut through metal in a crash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

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

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

I flee to where I left Chou and Pithy, and see their figures running toward me, axes over their shoulders, faces full of worry and fear.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

It was axed due to weak sales, operational snags and challenges selling the sandwich during late-night hours, he noted.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

In News, 100 more roles are being axed.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

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

I done axed you over and over not to have no dealings with him, Elijah.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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

VW, whose 10 brands range from mass-market Seats to premium Porsches, is already in the process of axing 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, including 35,000 at its namesake marque.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

Aston Martin has confirmed it will be axing 20% of its workforce, with the firm's net losses jumping 52% last year to £493.2m.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 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

And I know they somethin wron cause all of a sudden the Head Orphan stop showin up cause I'm axing plenty question.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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