pickax

[ pik-aks ]

/ ˈpɪkˌæks /

Save This Word!

noun, plural pick·ax·es.

a pick, especially a mattock.

verb (used with object), pick·axed, pick·ax·ing.

to cut or clear away with a pickax.

verb (used without object), pick·axed, pick·ax·ing.

to use a pickax.

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

Origin of pickax

1275–1325; pick² + ax; replacing Middle English picois<Middle French, Old French; akin to French picpick². See pique¹

If you want to make the game connection stronger, you can easily craft a pickax out of cardboard.
Need a last-minute Halloween costume people will recognize? Look to video games.|Shannon Liao|October 29, 2021|Washington Post
"I should think you might guess," replied George quietly, while putting down his pickax and taking off his coat.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
We got over the heavy floe-ice, to find ourselves confronted with jagged, rough ice, where we had to pickax our way.
A Negro Explorer at the North Pole|Matthew A. Henson
Then, muttering to himself, he brought out pickax and spade and began his work.
Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year|E.C. Hartwell

I began to dig in the rock, yet was obliged to desist for want of a pickax, shovel, and wheel-barrow.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
Jack and Alfonso were supplied with a pickax, a shovel and a basket.
The Slave of the Mine|Bracebridge Hemyng