pickax

or pick·axe

[ pik-aks ]

/ ˈpɪkˌæks /

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.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?

Question 1 of 10

decorum

the act of or need for making up one's mind.

dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pickax

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

Words nearby pickax

pickaback, pickaback plane, pickaback plant, pickaninny, pickaroon, pickax, pickaxe, picked, picked over, pickeer, pickens

Example sentences from the Web for pickax

At the first stroke of the pickax it is ten to one but what you are taken up for a trespass.
An English Grammar|W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
After that somebody took a pickax and cracked in my jaw with it.
Behind the Beyond|Stephen Leacock
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
Jack and Alfonso were supplied with a pickax, a shovel and a basket.
The Slave of the Mine|Bracebridge Hemyng

Mrs. Surratt said to Mr. Morgan: "I am so glad you officers came here to-night, for this man came here with a pickax to kill us."
Between the Lines|Henry Bascom Smith

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