axe

C2+

US /æks/ UK /æks/ See IPA manual

Homophones

ax /æks/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like ox /æ/ vs /ɑ/ Sounds like x /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Meanings

1

noun
a chopping tool with a bladed head; to cut or dismiss abruptly

The company axed half its workforce overnight.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a chopping tool with a... hatchet cleaver tomahawk dismiss cut fire eliminate cancel

Opposites

hire retain keep restore

Word family

Derived forms axeman

Related forms adzehatchet

Simplified etymology

Axe has existed in English since Anglo-Saxon times as the name of a tool or weapon. Its use for a cost-reducing measure, especially one involving redundancies, goes back to at least 1922. Since the 1950s it has also denoted a musical instrument: jazz fans first used it for a saxophone, while it now generally refers to an electric guitar.

Etymology

From Old English æx (also æces), from Proto-Germanic *akwizo, from Proto-Indo-European *agʷsī ('axe').

æx Old English *akwizo Proto-Germanic *agʷsī Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

External links

# axe

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /æks/
**IPA (UK):** /æks/

## Meanings
1. a chopping tool with a bladed head; to cut or dismiss abruptly

## Examples
- The company axed half its workforce overnight.

## Synonyms
- hatchet
- cleaver
- tomahawk
- dismiss
- cut
- fire
- eliminate
- cancel

## Antonyms
- hire
- retain
- keep
- restore

## Derived Forms
- axeman

## Related Forms
- adze
- hatchet

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: æx
- Root: *akwizo
- Root: *agʷsī

## Etymology
From Old English æx (also æces), from Proto-Germanic *akwizo, from Proto-Indo-European *agʷsī ('axe').

## AI Etymology
Axe is from Old English æx (also æces), from Proto-Germanic *akwizo, from Proto-Indo-European *agʷsī ('axe'). Important recorded forms include æx (Old English), *akwizo (Proto-Germanic), and *agʷsī (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers a chopping tool with a bladed head; to cut or dismiss abruptly. The wider family includes derived forms such as axeman and related words such as adze and hatchet.

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axe