pickax

or pick·axe

[pik-aks]

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.

Nearby words

Origin of pickax

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

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

Examples from the Web for pickaxe

An artist in New Mexico has spent decades chiseling out fantastical caves from the mountains, one pickaxe swing at a time.
New Mexico’s Amazing Man-Made Caves|Nina Strochlic|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She was coming along in the dull glow of the dying fire, the pickaxe over her shoulder.
Captivity|M. Leonora Eyles
Curdie drew his pickaxe carefully away, and as he did so, spied one of her feet, projecting from under the skins.
The Princess and the Goblin|George MacDonald
Over his shoulder he carries a pickaxe as the representative implement of husbandry with one or two wheaten cakes tied to it.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume IV of IV|R.V. Russell

I wanted to break up the idol with my pickaxe, but M. de Peyrehorade would not let me.
Abb Aubain and Mosaics|Prosper Mrime
“I should just like to pickaxe him with my mortar-chipper,” said an old cock-sparrow.
Featherland|George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for pickaxe

pickaxe

US pickax

noun

a large pick or mattock

verb

to use a pickaxe on (earth, rocks, etc)

Word Origin for pickaxe

C15: from earlier pikois (but influenced also by axe), from Old French picois, from pic pick ²; compare also pique 1

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 pickaxe

pickaxe

also pick-axe, early 15c., folk etymology alteration (by influence of axe) of Middle English picas (mid-13c.), via Anglo-French piceis, Old French pocois (11c.) and directly from Medieval Latin picosa "pick," related to Latin picus "woodpecker" (see pie (n.2)).