hatchet

[hach-it]

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.

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 formshatch·et·like, adjective

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

Related Words for hatchet

machete, bill, tomahawk, billhook

Examples from the Web for hatchet

Contemporary Examples of hatchet

The conviction of the man known as The Hatchet, infamous for filming himself torturing gay people, is good news.
Jail Won't Stop Russia's Anti-Gay Psycho
Jay Michaelson
August 20, 2014
This is not a hatchet job, and it certainly could have been.
Wheeere’s Johnny?
Malcolm Jones
October 13, 2013
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
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
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

Historical Examples of hatchet

The muses, like vines, may be pruned, but not with a hatchet.
Joseph Andrews, Vol. 2
Henry Fielding
Oh, how I understood now the rascally-looking fellow, with his hatchet and tomahawk!
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
The next moment he threw the hatchet at me, and began to run toward me.
Southern Lights and Shadows
Various
The hatchet struck my foot, and the blow roused me, and I sprang into the boat.
Southern Lights and Shadows
Various
One of them was as tall as De Launay, gaunt and hatchet faced.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter

British Dictionary definitions for hatchet

hatchet

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 Formshatchet-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

Word Origin and History for hatchet

c.1300 "small ax" (mid-12c. in surnames), from Old French hachete, diminutive of hache "ax, battle-axe, pickaxe," possibly from Frankish *happja or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *hæbijo (cf. Old High German happa "sickle, scythe"), from PIE root *kop- "to beat, strike" (cf. Greek kopis "knife;" Lithuanian kaplys "hatchet," kapoti "cut small;" Old Church Slavonic skopiti "castrate").

In Middle English, hatch itself was used in a sense "battle-axe." In 14c., hang up (one's) hatchet meant "stop what one is doing." Phrase bury the hatchet (1794) is from a supposed Native American peacemaking custom. Hatchet-man was originally California slang for "hired Chinese assassin" (1880), later extended figuratively to journalists who attacked the reputation of a public figure (1944).

Idioms and Phrases with hatchet

hatchet

In addition to the idioms beginning with hatchet

hatchet job
hatchet man

also see:

bury the hatchet