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• axis
  axis

  noun

  the line about which a rotating body, such as the earth, turns.
• Axis
  Axis

axis

¹ American  

[ak-sis] / ˈæk sɪs /

noun

• axes
  plural

1. the line about which a rotating body, such as the earth, turns.

2. Mathematics.

   1. a central line that bisects a two-dimensional body or figure.

   2. a line about which a three-dimensional body or figure is symmetrical.

3. Anatomy.

   1. a central or principal structure, about which something turns or is arranged.

      the skeletal axis.

   2. the second cervical vertebra.

4. Botany. the longitudinal support on which organs or parts are arranged; the stem and root; the central line of any body.

5. Analytic Geometry. any line used as a fixed reference in conjunction with one or more other references for determining the position of a point or of a series of points forming a curve or a surface.

6. Crystallography. crystallographic axis.

7. Aeronautics. any one of three lines defining the attitude of an airplane, one being generally determined by the direction of forward motion and the other two at right angles to it and to each other.

8. Fine Arts. an imaginary line, in a given formal structure, about which a form, area, or plane is organized.

9. an alliance of two or more nations to coordinate their foreign and military policies, and to draw in with them a group of dependent or supporting powers.

10. the Axis, (in World War II) Germany, Italy, and Japan, often with Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.

11. a principal line of development, movement, direction, etc.

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axis ² American  

[ak-sis] / ˈæk sɪs /

noun

• axises
  plural

1. axis deer.

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axis ¹ British  

/ ˈæksɪs /

noun

1. a real or imaginary line about which a body, such as an aircraft, can rotate or about which an object, form, composition, or geometrical construction is symmetrical

2. one of two or three reference lines used in coordinate geometry to locate a point in a plane or in space

3. anatomy the second cervical vertebra Compare atlas

4. botany the main central part of a plant, typically consisting of the stem and root, from which secondary branches and other parts develop

5. an alliance between a number of states to coordinate their foreign policy

6. Also called: principal axis.  optics the line of symmetry of an optical system, such as the line passing through the centre of a lens

7. geology an imaginary line along the crest of an anticline or the trough of a syncline

8. crystallog one of three lines passing through the centre of a crystal and used to characterize its symmetry

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axis ² British  

/ ˈæksɪs /

noun

1. any of several S Asian deer of the genus Axis, esp A. axis. They typically have a reddish-brown white-spotted coat and slender antlers

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Axis ³ British  

/ ˈæksɪs /

noun

1. 1. the alliance of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan, established in 1936 and lasting until their defeat in World War II

   2. ( as modifier )

      the Axis powers

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axis Scientific  

/ ăk′sĭs /

• axes
  plural

1. An imaginary line around which an object rotates. In a rotating sphere, such as the Earth and other planets, the two ends of the axis are called poles. The 23.45° tilt of the Earth's axis with respect to the plane of its orbit around the Sun causes the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to point toward and away from the Sun at different times of the year, creating seasonal patterns of weather and climate. Other planets in the solar system have widely varying tilts to their axes, ranging from near 0° for Mercury to 177° for Venus.

2. Mathematics

   1. A line, ray, or line segment with respect to which a figure or object is symmetrical.

   2. A reference line from which distances or angles are measured in a coordinate system, such as the x-axis and y-axis in the Cartesian coordinate system.

3. Anatomy The second cervical vertebra, which serves as a pivot for the head.

4. Botany The main stem or central part of a plant or plant part, about which other plant parts, such as branches or leaflets, are arranged.

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axis ¹ Cultural  

1. In geometry, a straight line about which an object may rotate or that divides an object into symmetrical halves.

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axis ² Cultural  

1. An imaginary straight line passing through the North Pole, the center of the Earth, and the South Pole. The Earth rotates around this axis.

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Usage

Plural word for axis The plural form of axis is axes, pronounced [ ak-seez ]. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -sis are also formed in the same way, including hypothesis/hypotheses, analysis/analyses, and crisis/crises. A similar change is made when pluralizing appendix as appendices. Irregular plurals that are formed like axes derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin and Greek. Be careful: axes is also the plural of ax (and its alternate spelling axe), but in this case it’s pronounced [ ak-siz ]. Do you know: What is the plural of matrix?

Discover More

The axis of the Earth is an imaginary line drawn through the North Pole and the South Pole.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• axised
  adjective
• unaxised
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• axes
  plural
• axises
  plural

Etymology

Origin of axis¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; from Latin axis “an axletree, axle, axis”; see origin at axi-

Origin of axis²

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin axis “a wild animal of India, perhaps the spotted deer” (Pliny)

Explanation

An axis is a straight line, sometimes seen, sometimes not, that is important in mathematics, art, science and our survival. The most famous axis is the one the earth spins around, giving us the 24-hour day. In graphs, one side is usually the "X axis" and the other the "Y axis." Axis lines are also the lines that run through spheres, like our earth, around which those spheres rotate. In a totally different area, axis is used to describe countries in an alliance. During World War II, Germany, Japan, and Italy were known as the Axis Powers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

axis Axis axes

Recent successes have also flipped the narrative on Tehran’s investment in the axis and its effectiveness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

There are some signs that the high pressure axis may shift farther north, across the northern UK.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

At the Zurbatiyah crossing, large fans sprayed mist to cool the heat as pilgrims passed portraits of Khamenei, his son and successor Mujtaba, and other slain commanders from Iran's so-called "axis of resistance."

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

The emergent Turkey-led axis, which may be trying to draw in Saudi Arabia, is another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

This ponderous world spins on its axis in less than ten hours.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Earlier, a number of specimens, including parts of the early dinosaur Thecodontosaurus, were destroyed in Bristol after an Axis raid in 1940.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

And the Soviets proved that they could withstand everything the Axis threw at them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Army colonel Lee Shaw, her team’s father figure, in the monster realm they call Axis Mundi.

From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2026

It was a fearsome constellation of paramilitary factions and amenable governments that became known as the Axis of Resistance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

By 1944, Italy—one of the three Axis powers—has surrendered, but Germany has proven much more formidable.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

It is his Excalibur, his Andúril, the vaunted weapon only he can string and use to hit a bullseye through a row of twelve crossed axes.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

One location stood out due to the discovery of about 80 grooved stone axes, which were used to break down and process ore.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2026

“Amazon axes 16,000 jobs as it pushes AI and efficiency,” Reuters announced last week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

The towering ambition of the men remaking the landscape with saws and axes, and the men, like Grainier, who were somehow pulled through that current.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026

Besides, I can do a lot more damage with a sheath of arrows than she can with two axes, so I'm the best one to bring up the rear.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins