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.

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

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

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# 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

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