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View synonyms for ax

ax

1
or axe

[ aks ]

noun

, plural ax·es [ak, -siz].
  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. the ax, Informal.
    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, ax·ing.
  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 for

  1. axiom.
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Other Words From

  • axlike adjective
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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-
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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

In addition to the idiom beginning with ax , also see get the ax .
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Example Sentences

Modeling based on the skewed-high axis-ratio distribution shows that the ratio of the shortest to the longest of their three axes is, on average, half and increases with spatial compactness.

His history suggests, however, that given the go-ahead he will gleefully take a meat ax to the program.

From Salon

Much of the wood was hand-sawn then hewed into shape with axes, just as the beams were in the 13th century.

From BBC

Trump is unlikely to ax a program that will produce economic benefits across the country, in congressional districts red and blue.

Even worse, Kalmus said, Trump and his economic adviser Tesla CEO Elon Musk are going to take the ax to countless unrelated science initiatives that run afoul of their political positions.

From Salon

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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