ax

or axe

[ aks ]

See synonyms for ax on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural ax·es

[ak-siz]. /ˈæk sɪz/.

an instrument with a bladed head on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping, etc.
Jazz Slang. any musical instrument.

the ax, Informal.
- dismissal from employment: to get the ax.
- expulsion from school.
- rejection by a lover, friend, etc.: His girlfriend gave him the ax.
- any usually summary removal or curtailment.

verb (used with object),axed, ax·ing.

to shape or trim with an ax.
to chop, split, destroy, break open, etc., with an ax: The firemen had to ax the door to reach the fire.

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 about ax

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.

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-

Other words from ax

axlike, adjective

Other definitions for ax- (2 of 3)

ax-

variant of axi-, especially before a vowel.

Other definitions for ax. (3 of 3)

ax.

abbreviation

axiom.

How to use ax in a sentence

The crusty conservative battle-ax Phyllis Schlafly is giving speeches saying that Obama worships government like a god.
RFRA Madness: What’s Next for Anti-Democratic ‘Religious Exemptions’ | Jay Michaelson | November 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
One morning a few years ago, the editor left his apartment to find an ax stuck into a log on his doorstep.
The Kremlin Is Killing Echo of Moscow, Russia’s Last Independent Radio Station | Anna Nemtsova | November 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“Kasich wields his ax much less selectively than do most of his party colleagues,” the New York Times Magazine reported in 1998.
John Kasich: The GOP’s Hobbled 2016 Dark Horse | W. James Antle III | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Then, one warm summer day, Andrew and Abby were found hacked to death more than a dozen times with an ax.
Would You Stay in Lizzie Borden’s Ax-Murder House? | Nina Strochlic | October 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The ensuing night gave me the grand migraine of my life, with throbs like the blows of an ax and continuous pinwheels.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire | H.L. Mencken | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Victor was the younger son and brother—a tete montee, with a temper which invited violence and a will which no ax could break.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin
From somewhere in the thicket below a muffled thump, thump, thump came up to them, as though some one was wielding an ax.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
The blows of the ax, off in the chaparral, were louder in their ears now, and they could hear a mumble of voices.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
Gregory picked up an ax as he stepped back, and then stood confronting the boys threateningly.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
The ax was to sever the head from the lifeless body, and all the headless trunks were to be interred together.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. Abbott

Other Idioms and Phrases with ax

In addition to the idiom beginning with ax

ax to grind

also see:

get the ax

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