sax
noun
sax
1 American
[saks]
/ sæks /
noun
Informal.
sax
2
American
[saks]
/ sæks /
noun
Sax.
3
American
abbreviation
-
Saxon.
-
Saxony.
sax
1
British
/ sæks /
noun
sax
2
British
/ sæks /
noun
Etymology
Origin of sax1
By shortening
Origin of sax2
before 900; Middle English sexe, Old English seax, sæx; cognate with Old Norse sax ( Swedish, Danish sax scissors). See saw 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:
A thudding kick drum and a mournful sax set up “I’ll Play the Fool” before a rubbery rumba beat and swing band take over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
"Freedom Suite," led by Rollins' confident sax and also notable for Max Roach's drumming, proved controversial enough that a reissue chose another title for the album.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
The younger Angel played sax in the family band, went to barber college in Pasadena, apprenticed in Williams, then came home in 1950 to take over his father’s old shop along Route 66.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Does this mean that Moore has traded in his axe for a sax?
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
He had his alto sax idol, Johnny Hodges, with Duke Ellington’s band, but he said he thought too many young musicians were only carbon-copying the big-band names on the same instrument.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
I am inclined to bring in here the Granta, and to suggest that it may have been a Sax. or Angle name of the Cam, or of a certain part of the Cam.
From The River-Names of Europe by Robert Ferguson
Rather, Mr. Turner says, from Sax. gradlie upright; gradely in Lanc., he observes, is an adjective simplifying everything respectable.
From Notes and Queries, Number 51, October 19, 1850 by Various
The verb only exists in the Sax. in the pt. t. þærnode, Chron.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
From these examples, added to those which occur in every Glossary, it is evident the Sax. prep.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
The verb in the Sax. is hlystan, but in Su.-G. lyda, and Isl. hlyda, which approaches nearer to the form in the poem.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
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