I.
(esp. BrE ) ( AmE usually ax ) noun
1 tool
VERB + AXE
▪ brandish ( esp. BrE ), carry , heft ( esp. AmE ), hold , wield
▪
A man used to wielding an ~ fought best on foot.
▪ use
▪ swing
▪ sharpen
AXE + VERB
▪ fall
▪
The executioner's ~ fell.
PREPOSITION
▪ with an/the ~
▪
to chop a tree down with an ~
PHRASES
▪ a blow from an ~ , a blow of an ~
▪
With a few swift blows of the ~, she severed the cable.
2 the axe complete loss of sth/big reduction in sth
VERB + THE AXE
▪ be given , get
▪
His prime-time TV show is likely to get the ~.
▪ swing , wield (both esp. BrE )
▪
Wielding the ~ on the prison plan would be one way of saving money.
▪ face ( BrE )
▪
Up to 300 workers are facing the ~ at a struggling Merseyside firm.
▪ save sb/sth from
▪
Patients are delighted their local hospital has been saved from the ~.
THE AXE + VERB
▪ fall
▪
We were expecting bad news but had no idea where the ~ would fall (= where the loss would be) .
II.
verb
Axe/ax is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ job , ↑ service