hatchet

[ hach-it ]

/ ˈhætʃ ɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hatchet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a small, short-handled ax having the end of the head opposite the blade in the form of a hammer, made to be used with one hand.

a tomahawk.

hatchetfish.

verb (used with object)

to cut, destroy, kill, etc., with a hatchet.

to abridge, delete, excise, etc.: The network censor may hatchet 30 minutes from the script.

RELATED WORDS

machete, bill, tomahawk, billhook

Nearby words

hatch boat, hatchback, hatcheck, hatchel, hatchery, hatchet, hatchet face, hatchet job, hatchet man, hatchetfish, hatchettine

Idioms

bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited; make peace.

take up the hatchet, to begin or resume hostilities; prepare for or go to war: The natives are taking up the hatchet against the enemy.

Origin of hatchet

1300–50; 1670–80, Americanism for def 6; Middle English hachet < Middle French hachette, diminutive (see -et) of hache ax < Frankish *hapja kind of knife; akin to Greek kóptein to cut (cf. comma, syncope)

Related forms

hatch·et·like, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for hatchet

This is not a hatchet job, and it certainly could have been.
Wheeere’s Johnny?|Malcolm Jones|October 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
From Kimmel and Kanye burying the hatchet to a telekinetic coffee shop surprise, WATCH our countdown.
‘We Can’t Stop’ a Cappella, Coffee Shop Telekinesis & More Viral Videos|Natasha Bach|October 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And, he added, a mayor would be foolish to attempt to “take a hatchet to the financial industry.”
Can Bill de Blasio Fix New York’s Income Inequality?|David Freedlander|September 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
According to the police report, officers also found a Taser and a hatchet in the house.
Anna Benson, Former ‘Baseball Wife,’ Reportedly Snaps. What Happened?|Christine Pelisek|July 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Maybe now Rush Limbaugh and Sandra Fluke can bury the hatchet.
Obama Moves to Clean Up Mandated Birth Control Mess|Michelle Cottle|February 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Now, if a hatchet will do more good than an arrow, he will direct his energies to the making of the hatchet.
Essentials of Economic Theory|John Bates Clark
Macavoy, stripped to the waist, and carrying only a hatchet and a coil of rope tied round him, started away alone up the river.
Romany of the Snows|Gilbert Parker
On the opposite corner, diagonally, have an imitation stump with hatchet sticking in the wood.
Dinners and Luncheons|Paul Pierce
The carpenter seized a hatchet, and, leaving his berth, hurried up to encounter Aupic.
A Winter Amid the Ice|Jules Verne
His father had shot one, and he'd had to leave his hatchet sticking in the skull of another, when his rifle had misfired.
The Return|H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire

British Dictionary definitions for hatchet

hatchet

/ (ˈhætʃɪt) /

noun

a short axe used for chopping wood, etc

a tomahawk

(modifier) of narrow dimensions and sharp featuresa hatchet face

bury the hatchet to cease hostilities and become reconciled

Derived Forms

hatchet-like, adjective

Word Origin for hatchet

C14: from Old French hachette, from hache axe, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German happa knife

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with hatchet

hatchet

In addition to the idioms beginning with hatchet

hatchet job
hatchet man

also see:

bury the hatchet