battle-ax

or bat·tle-axe

[ bat-l-aks ]

/ ˈbæt lˌæks /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR battle-ax ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a broadax formerly used as a weapon of war.

Slang. a domineering, aggressive, sharp-tempered person, especially a woman.

Nearby words

battle plan, battle royal, battle star, battle station, battle wagon, battle-ax, battle-ax culture, battle-axe, battle-axe block, battle-scarred, battlebus

Origin of battle-ax

1350–1400; Middle English batelax

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for battle-ax

You go not in gleaming steel and fretted mail to meet the bite of blade and crash of battle-ax.
The Valiants of Virginia|Hallie Erminie Rives
He pleaded for his life, but it had no effect upon the Fire Eater, who shortly arose and approached him with his battle-ax.
The Way of an Indian|Frederic Remington
In Bontoc the head weapon is a battle-ax, in Quiangan it is a long knife.
The Bontoc Igorot|Albert Ernest Jenks
In the afternoon he showed to better advantage, for then he would go down to the South Meadow and practise with a battle-ax.
Modern Essays|John Macy

Let us surrender the tools of idiocy; especially, let us abandon all 124 claim to the helmet and battle-ax.
'Charge It'|Irving Bacheller