: a cutting tool that consists of a heavy edged head fixed to a handle with the edge parallel to the handle and that is used especially for felling trees and chopping and splitting wood
: removal from office or release from employment : dismissal—usually used with the
Employees with poor evaluations got the axe.Trump quickly gave him the ax[=fired him] for his incompetence. Laura Petrecca
b
: abrupt elimination or severe reduction of something
Unlimited expense accounts, signing bonuses, and office plants—all are getting the ax[=being cut or eliminated] thanks to corporate cost-cutting measures. Amanda Hinnant
No party was brave enough to offend its supporters by taking an axe to[=severely reducing] expenditure.The Economist
4
slang: any of several musical instruments (such as a guitar or a saxophone)
Noun the company was hemorrhaging money, so 700 employees would soon be given the axVerb The boss told him that he had been axed. the boss will ax anyone who leaks company secrets
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The owner chased after it with the ax and started hacking the snake into pieces. Robyn A. Friedman, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 Her hands were chopped off with a machete, her head was struck with an ax, and her body was dumped along W.W. White Road near Higdon Road. Elizabeth Zavala, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Aug. 2022 And that's going to be straight up through the roof with an ax. Angela Fritz, CNN, 29 July 2022 But by the 1940s, any tree in an expanding Washington was threatened with the ax. John Kelly, Washington Post, 9 July 2022 That raised hopes among some that the court might be ready to wield an ax to capital punishment in California, a state that has produced the nation’s largest death row but hardly any executions.Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2021 When coach Justin Fuente found the ax in Blacksburg, Va., player defections followed. Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Aug. 2022 The acoustic ax in question was given to a young Riley B. King by his mother’s first cousin in 1931. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2022 Many of the titles getting the ax come from HBO Max’s kids and family department — as do many of the layoffs occuring at WBD. Selome Hailu, Variety, 22 Aug. 2022
Verb
The European Union wants ax its dependence on Russian oil and gas by two-thirds this year and completely over five years through alternative sources, wind and solar, and conservation. Derek Gatopoulos, ajc, 29 Apr. 2022 Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the decision to ax the comedy was made months ago after the now fourth season and ultimate series finale aired back in December. Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Apr. 2022 Irwin didn’t ax all of Patrick Henry’s advanced courses. Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2022 Her father also worked as a blacksmith and made baskets and ax handles.Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2022 Noting Germany's decision last month to freeze the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Novak said Russia could ax the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline – considered one of Europe's main sources of natural gas. Celina Tebor, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2022 The cancellations come after a week of travel chaos over the holidays that saw airlines ax thousands of flights, with some blaming the spread of omicron among crew and other staff.NBC News, 29 Dec. 2021 SkyWest, a major partner for United, Delta, American and Alaska, has had among the heaviest flight cancellations in the past couple of weeks as airlines tend to ax those regional flights first. Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2022 The Mayo Clinic has faced some backlash over its policy, with 38 lawmakers signing a letter to the hospital last month asking it to ax the rule.NBC News, 5 Jan. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Old English æcs; akin to Old High German ackus ax, Latin ascia, Greek axinē
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
1 (especially BrE) (NAmE usuallyax) tool工具VERB + AXE | AXE + VERB | PREPOSITION | PHRASESVERB + AXE➤brandish, carry, heft, hold, wield揮舞/帶着/舉起/手握/揮動斧頭◇A man used to wielding an axe fought best on foot.慣用斧頭的人最善於步戰。➤use使用斧頭▸➤swing揮舞斧頭▸➤sharpen磨快斧頭AXE + VERB➤fall斧頭落下◇The executioner's axe fell.劊子手手起斧落。PREPOSITION➤with an/the axe用斧頭◇to chop a tree down with an axe用斧頭砍倒一棵樹PHRASES➤a blow from an axe, a blow of an axe一記板斧◇With a few swift blows of the axe, she severed the cable.她用斧子乾淨利落地砍了幾下,就把電纜切斷了。axe
noun²
2 (especially BrE) (NAmE usuallyax) the axecomplete loss of sth/big reduction in sth完全喪失;大幅度的削減VERB + THE AXE | THE AXE + VERBVERB + THE AXE➤be given, get被取消◇His prime-time TV show is likely to get the axe.他在黃金時段的電視節目很可能會被取消。➤swing, wield (both especially BrE) 取消;大幅削減◇Wielding the axe on the prison plan would be one way of saving money.取消監獄規劃會是省錢的一種方法。➤face (BrE) 面臨解雇◇Up to 300 workers are facing the axe at a struggling Merseyside firm.默西賽德郡一家瀕臨倒閉的公司有多達 300 名工人正面臨被解雇。➤save sb/sth from使⋯免遭關閉◇Patients are delighted their local hospital has been saved from the axe.患者都很高興,因為當地那家醫院未遭關閉。THE AXE + VERB➤fall損失發生◇We were expecting bad news but had no idea where the axe would fall (= where the loss would be).我們預料到有壞消息,卻不知道遭殃的會是什麼。