I. noun
or axe ˈaks
( plural axes )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English æx, æces, acus; akin to Old High German ackus, acchus ax, Old Norse öx, Gothic aqisi, Latin ascia, Greek axinē, and perhaps to Old English ecg edge, sword — more at edge
1. : a cutting tool or implement that consists of a relatively heavy edged head fixed to a handle, the edge or edges being parallel to the handle so as to be suited for striking, and that is used especially for felling trees, chopping and splitting wood, and hewing timber
2. : a hammer with a sharp edge for dressing or spalling stone : axhammer
3. : removal from office or release from employment : dismissal , discharge — usually used with the
one of the leading candidates for the ax when and if the expected purge comes — John Dean
boys who had got the ax — John McNulty
•
- ax to grind
II. transitive verb
or axe
( axed ; axed ; axing ; axes )
1.
a. : to shape, dress, or trim with an ax
ax stone
ax bricks
b. : to chop, cut, split, or sever with an ax
ax branches from a tree
2. : to relieve of office or employment : dismiss , discharge
columnists and correspondents were axed — Time
3. : to put an end to, curtail, or impair
congressmen who want to ax the subsidy program — J.C.Cort
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English axen — more at ask
dialect : ask
IV. abbreviation
1. axiom
2. axis
V. noun
or axe
: any of several musical instruments (as a guitar or a saxophone)