hatchet

American  

[hach-it] / ˈhætʃ ɪt /

noun

hatchets plural

1. a small, short-handled ax having the end of the head opposite the blade in the form of a hammer, made to be used with one hand.

2. a tomahawk.

3. hatchetfish.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cut, destroy, kill, etc., with a hatchet.

2. to abridge, delete, excise, etc..

   The network censor may hatchet 30 minutes from the script.

idioms

1. bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited; make peace.

2. take up the hatchet, to begin or resume hostilities; prepare for or go to war.

   The natives are taking up the hatchet against the enemy.

hatchet British  

/ ˈhætʃɪt /

noun

1. a short axe used for chopping wood, etc

2. a tomahawk

3. (modifier) of narrow dimensions and sharp features

   a hatchet face

4. to cease hostilities and become reconciled

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hatchet More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing hatchet

• bury the hatchet

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hatchet-like
  adjective
• hatchetlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hatchets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hatchet

1300–50; 1670–80, hatchet for def. 6; Middle English hachet < Middle French hachette, diminutive ( see -et) of hache ax < Frankish *hapja kind of knife; akin to Greek kóptein to cut ( cf. comma, syncope)

Explanation

A hatchet is a little ax used for chopping wood or for hewing a round log into a squared-off shape. If you go camping, you might take a hatchet with you. If someone hands you a hatchet and tells you to start splitting a pile of firewood, they expect you to chop each log into smaller pieces. The difference between a hatchet and an ax is that hatchets have short handles and are meant to be held in one hand. Axes have longer handles for two-handed chopping. If someone wants to "bury the hatchet," it's not a threat—they just want to end an argument and be friends.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hatchet hatchets

Wang delivered spectacularly, becoming the leader’s indispensable hatchet man.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

And is it finally time for England to bury the hatchet with Ollie Robinson?

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026

Most famously, Parson Weems invented from whole cloth the story about young Washington taking a hatchet to his father’s cherry tree, then confessing to it.

From Slate ● Feb. 16, 2026

But wanting to remind folks that he could still be funny, he decided to bury the hatchet with “Saturday Night Live,” returning to host in 2019: “‘SNL’ is part of my history.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025

He also started collecting armloads of firewood, cutting and splitting the wood with a small handsaw and hatchet, and stacking it in a straight pile against the cabin.

From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen

The documentary closes on a similar note: Take That are national treasures, their reputation is secure, their hatchets are buried.

From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2026

Alan recalls exposed wooden beams that were notched with hatchets to achieve a hand-cut look, the original embossed-leather wallpaper and the solid two-inch oak front door that “took a lot of work” to open.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2022

The smugglers had placed the radio and hatchets there to help the migrants call for help and break out of the trailer should they run into trouble.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2022

Yet despite many statements over the years that old hatchets have been buried — the intraband litigation file goes back decades — the Beach Boys are not quite united.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021

Hugo grabs a knife, hatchets off the tops of his eggs.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Related Words

• machete