ax

¹ American  

[aks] / æks /

Or axe

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.

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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.

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

• axlike adjective

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-

Example Sentences

It has no ideological ax to grind, although it makes a persuasive case for the expansiveness of American poetry as a parallel to the definition of Americanness itself.

From The Wall Street Journal

She might have jumped with another offer in hand but, without one, she waited for the ax to fall and got three months’ severance.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lizza, in his own statement, said: “Telling the truth is not harassment and accountability is not an ax, though I understand why Olivia finds it unpleasant to be confronted with her treachery and betrayal.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He remembers using ice axes to climb in the winter when he was only 15.

From The Wall Street Journal

But there wasn’t much benefit in tracking sales of shovels, pick axes, and sifting pans in order to validate the bull case for the California Gold Rush.

From Barron's