pickaxe

British

/ ˈpɪkˌæks /

noun

a large pick or mattock

"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

verb

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of pickaxe

C15: from earlier pikois (but influenced also by _axe ), from Old French picois, from pic _pick ²; compare also _pique ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

pickaxe

Why must it take a pickaxe to the eardrums?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

"The person was pinned down but could move their hand. And I got them out alive," said Faramaya, who says he uses "nothing but a pickaxe and a shovel" to pick through the rubble.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

"You can't really do much with just a pickaxe," she told BBC Mundo.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

“I’m still hitting the wrong buttons here, I’m not used to the controls,” Shapiro said as he limply gestured his pickaxe toward a stone laden with glowing rubies.

From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2023

And they don't look like people who would want to swing a pickaxe.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023