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

Last week, British bank Standard Chartered announced plans to axe thousands of jobs by 2030 as artificial intelligence replaces employees in a range of administrative roles.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

Some groups have backed a ban - including police leaders, who said any platform which does not axe certain features should be banned for under-16s.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

Still, this could reverse if hiring slows or jobs face the axe due to lingering uncertainty, while the ECB already expects wage growth to cool this year.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Finally, things get going with a funeral — I won’t say whose, only that the death makes a fitting twist for an industry already getting the axe.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

He held an axe in his hand—forged to be a near replica of one he’d studied in a museum in Iceland.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

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