English Explanatory Dictionary

axe

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc. consisting of a heavy head flattened to a blade on one side, and a handle attached to it.
  2. An ancient weapon consisting of a head that has one or two blades and a long handle.
  3. A dismissal or rejection.
  4. A drastic reduction or cutback.
  5. A gigging musician's particular instrument, especially a guitar in rock music or a saxophone in jazz.
  6. A position, interest, or reason in buying and selling stock, often with ulterior motives.
verb
  1. To fell or chop with an axe.
  2. To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel.
noun
  1. The axle of a wheel.
verb
  1. To furnish with an axle.
verb
  1. Alternative form of ask.
name
  1. A river in Dorset, Somerset, and east Devon, England, which flows into Lyme Bay at Seaton.
  2. A river in Somerset, England, which flows into the Bristol Channel at Weston-super-Mare.

Pronunciation

ăks /æks/ en-us-axe.ogg

Word forms

axe axes ax axing axeing axed the Axe

Etymology

From Middle English ax, axe, ex, from Old English æx (“axe”), from Proto-West Germanic *akusi (“axe”), from Proto-Germanic *akwisī (“axe”), probably from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷsih₂ (“axe”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”). Cognate with Scots aix (“axe”), Dutch aks (“axe”), German Axt (“axe”), Danish økse (“axe”), Faroese and Norwegian øks (“axe”), Icelandic öxi (“axe”), Swedish yxa (“axe”), Latin ascia (“axe, mason's trowel”).

Synonyms

chop pink slip sack boot downsize fire lay off axe can decruit dehire discard remove discharge dismiss give the axe give someone the boot give someone their cards give the chop give the elbow give someone the heave-ho give someone the old heave-ho let go let someone go make redundant promote to customer retrench serve notice shit-can term terminate throw out unhire

Related words

adze hatchet twibill

Derived words

axeblade axe bombing Axe Creek axe head axe kick axeless axelike axeman axemanship axe murder axe-murder axe-murderer axe murderer axe throwing axe to grind axewoman axe wound Bad Axe battle-axe boarding axe break-axe broadaxe curtal-axe curt-axe curtle-axe dagger-axe give the axe greataxe Hagen axe hand axe have an axe to grind ice axe ice-axe mad as a meat axe man with the axe meat axe moot-axe pick-axe pole-axe poleaxe take an axe to throwing axe tomax Axbridge Axminster Axmouth
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