axe
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aksIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈæks
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
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.
An ancient weapon consisting of a head that has one or two blades and a long handle.
informal
A dismissal or rejection.
figurative
A drastic reduction or cutback.
verb
transitivefigurative
To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel.
“The NSF axed the research program and stopped funding it.”
Chop or split with an ax
transitive
To fell or chop with an axe.
To furnish with an axle.
To request or petition.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: 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.
Used this way, axe is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use axe
- “The NSF axed the research program and stopped funding it.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An ax with a long handle and a head that has one cutting edge and one blunt side.
An ax with a long handle and a head that has one cutting edge and one blunt side.
An ax that has cutting edges on both sides of the head.
An ax that has a long handle and a head with one cutting edge and a point on the other side.
Terminate the employment of.
A stone tool with a cutting edge.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.