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

How Hip Is Your Lingo? Take Our Slang Quiz!

If you aren’t already skilled in slang, then this quiz can get you up to speed in no time!

Question 1 of 11

OK Boomer can be perceived as pejorative, but it is mostly considered to be _____

a slang word for astronauts that originated in the 1950s.

a comment toward the Baby Boomer generation that is humorous or ironic in usage.

an obsolete slang term about people who speak loudly.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences 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

/ (ˈpɪkˌæks) /

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