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pickaxe

British  
/ ˈpɪkˌæks /

noun

  1. 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

  1. 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.

“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

To answer that, Povich's colleague Gordon Elliott ran to a local firehouse, procured a pickaxe and took a few theatrical digs at the great concrete symbol of communism.

From Salon • Sep. 25, 2022

"Netflix's Resident Evil is proof it's time to bury a pickaxe in the franchise."

From BBC • Jul. 13, 2022

But one day, some civic notable will stand on a concrete riverbank with a gold-painted pickaxe, and take a mighty and symbolic swing at L.A.’s environmental Berlin Wall.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2022

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

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan