axe

British  

/ æks /

noun

1. a hand tool with one side of its head forged and sharpened to a cutting edge, used for felling trees, splitting timber, etc See also hatchet

2. 1. an ulterior motive

   2. a grievance

   3. a pet subject

3. informal

   1. dismissal, esp from employment; the sack (esp in the phrase get the axe )

   2. severe cutting down of expenditure, esp the removal of unprofitable sections of a public service

4. slang any musical instrument, esp a guitar or horn

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verb

1. to chop or trim with an axe

2. informal to dismiss (employees), restrict (expenditure or services), or terminate (a project)

Etymology

Origin of axe

Old English æx; related to Old Frisian axa, Old High German acchus, Old Norse öx, Latin ascia, Greek axinē

Example Sentences

And these men were largely not actually given the public axe, and not made to endure the resulting public humiliation.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

The future Peaches eventually strapped on an electric axe, then found she could do everything a band could do by herself, using electronics.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Volunteers at the mosque noticed an axe inside the bag and escorted the white man into a separate room.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

The TV clip the Journal mentions features individuals with little understanding of our organization and an axe to grind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

After a moment he turned and picked up the axe again.

From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin

Related Words

• consume
• crush
• damage
• dismantle
• end
• eradicate
• gut
• impair
• kill
• maim
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• smash
• smash-up
• wipe out
• wreck