axe

/ æks /

noun

1. a hand tool with one side of its head forged and sharpened to a cutting edge, used for felling trees, splitting timber, etc See also hatchet
2. an axe to grind
   1. an ulterior motive
   2. a grievance
   3. a pet subject
3. the axe informal.
   1. dismissal, esp from employment; the sack (esp in the phrase get the axe )
   2. severe cutting down of expenditure, esp the removal of unprofitable sections of a public service
4. slang.
   any musical instrument, esp a guitar or horn

verb

1. to chop or trim with an axe
2. informal.
   to dismiss (employees), restrict (expenditure or services), or terminate (a project)

Word History and Origins

Origin of axe¹

Old English æx; related to Old Frisian axa, Old High German acchus, Old Norse öx, Latin ascia, Greek axinē

Example Sentences

Police say Mr Abbey led them to several items he had stolen from the campsite, including an axe, guns and a cooler.

From BBC

Payne was axed from the show but, undaunted, returned to audition again two years later.

From Los Angeles Times

Law firm Leigh Day said Packham had reached "a legal settlement" with the new Labour government that said the Tory administration "had acted unlawfully" by axing or watering down climate policies.

From BBC

But in Trump’s first term, he axed funding for several UN agencies and pulled out of the World Health Organisation.

From BBC

The axe has finally fallen on Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager.

From BBC

Related Words

• consume
• crush
• damage
• dismantle
• end
• eradicate
• gut
• impair
• kill
• maim
• ravage
• raze
• ruin
• sabotage
• shatter
• smash
• smash-up
• wipe out
• wreck