DEFINITIONS

poleax

[ pohl-aks ]
/ ˈpoʊlˌæks /

noun, plural pole·ax·es [pohl-ak-siz] /ˈpoʊlˌæk sɪz/.

a medieval shafted weapon with blade combining ax, hammer, and apical spike, used for fighting on foot.
an ax, usually with a hammer opposite the cutting edge, used in stunning and slaughtering animals.
an ax with both a blade and a hook, formerly used in naval warfare to assist sailors in boarding vessels.

verb (used with object), pole·axed, pole·ax·ing.

to strike down or kill with or as if with a poleax.

Words nearby poleax

pole position, pole star, pole vault, pole-jump, pole-vault, poleax, poleaxe, polecat, poleis, polemarch, polemic

Origin of poleax

1300–50; Middle English pollax battle-ax, literally, head-ax (see poll1, ax); akin to Middle Low German polexe
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for poleax

  • He considered a grate-bar from a heating furnace, and then he found the poleax, lying among a pile of wormeaten boards.

    Police Operation|H. Beam Piper