variants
or ax
plural axes
1
: 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
2
: a hammer with a sharp edge for dressing (see dress entry 1 sense 6e) or spalling stone
3
informal
a
: 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
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
Amanda HinnantNo party was brave enough to offend its supporters by taking an axe to [=severely reducing] expenditure.—The Economist
The Economist4
slang
: any of several musical instruments (such as a guitar or a saxophone)
variants
or ax
axed; axing; axes
1
a
: to shape, dress (see dress entry 1 sense 6e), or trim with an axe
axe stone
b
: to chop, split, or sever with an axe
axe branches from a tree
2
informal
: to remove abruptly (as from employment or from a budget)
The TV program was axed from the new schedule.
Examples of axe in a Sentence
Noun
the company was hemorrhaging money, so 700 employees would soon be given the ax
Verb
The boss told him that he had been axed.
the boss will ax anyone who leaks company secrets
Recent Examples on the Web
Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025
Trump fired Comey in his first administration and the president claimed Comey still has an axe to grind.
—Kelsey Walsh, ABC News, 16 May 2025
Tulsa King Season 3 has added Kevin Pollak (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) in the series-regular role of Special Agent Musso, an FBI agent who has an axe to grind, our sister site Variety reports.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 5 May 2025
Defense & National Security The Big Story Hegseth wants to take axe to top military brass
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military to be cut by at least 20 percent.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 5 May 2025
The cuts haven't been made with a scalpel, but an axe — or, rather a chainsaw.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 30 Apr. 2025
But fans are divided over who might get the axe in the season 22 finale, and Torres isn't the clear frontrunner.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 May 2025
Trump felled so much timber not because of the mightiness of his axe but because of the rot within the trees and the weakness of the wood.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
That date comes a day after the duty-free de minimis provision for all goods out of China officially gets the axe—further driving a stake into the ambitions of e-commerce players like Shein and Temu that flew low-value shipments directly to the U.S. without paying taxes.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 11 Apr. 2025
Benji Jones, Vox, 16 May 2025
The company initiated the largest layoffs in its history, cutting more than 27,000 jobs, and axed many of its more unprofitable initiatives.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 14 May 2025
High-profile former cable anchors—including Joy Reid, axed from MSNBC (to Maddow’s dismay) during the same programming reshuffle that saw Psaki elevated—have found an audience by posting independently to Substack, stripped of the bells and whistles of a fancy studio.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
Defense leaders are looking to axe tens of thousands of jobs from the Pentagon’s 900,000-person civilian workforce via voluntary resignations and early retirements.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 6 May 2025
The White House on Friday released a budget blueprint that signals major shake-ups at NASA, as part of an effort to axe $163 billion in federal spending.
—Denise Chow, NBC news, 2 May 2025
Olsen previously noted that a potential Brady Bunch revival was axed due to her support of Donald Trump, her opinions on COVID-19 vaccines and the LGBTQ+ community.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2025
Related Articles Opinion: Why American democracy and prosperity depend on mathematical literacy
San Jose school district parcel tax continues to trail
Budget cuts heighten concerns for West Contra Costa English learners
Trump won’t axe Head Start.
—Katie Lauer, Mercury News, 7 May 2025
More announcements of a similar nature are expected; in late April and early May (Weeks 17-19), over 25 percent of weekly service-loops have already been axed.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 6 May 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
But the axe is likely to fall on staff and administrators than on research personnel, all else constant.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 17 May 2025
Trump fired Comey in his first administration and the president claimed Comey still has an axe to grind.
—Kelsey Walsh, ABC News, 16 May 2025
Tulsa King Season 3 has added Kevin Pollak (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) in the series-regular role of Special Agent Musso, an FBI agent who has an axe to grind, our sister site Variety reports.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 5 May 2025
Defense & National Security The Big Story Hegseth wants to take axe to top military brass
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military to be cut by at least 20 percent.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 5 May 2025
The cuts haven't been made with a scalpel, but an axe — or, rather a chainsaw.
—Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 30 Apr. 2025
But fans are divided over who might get the axe in the season 22 finale, and Torres isn't the clear frontrunner.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 May 2025
Trump felled so much timber not because of the mightiness of his axe but because of the rot within the trees and the weakness of the wood.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
That date comes a day after the duty-free de minimis provision for all goods out of China officially gets the axe—further driving a stake into the ambitions of e-commerce players like Shein and Temu that flew low-value shipments directly to the U.S. without paying taxes.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 11 Apr. 2025
Verb
Now the Trump administration is trying to axe those extinction-thwarting protections.
—Benji Jones, Vox, 16 May 2025
The company initiated the largest layoffs in its history, cutting more than 27,000 jobs, and axed many of its more unprofitable initiatives.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 14 May 2025
High-profile former cable anchors—including Joy Reid, axed from MSNBC (to Maddow’s dismay) during the same programming reshuffle that saw Psaki elevated—have found an audience by posting independently to Substack, stripped of the bells and whistles of a fancy studio.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
Defense leaders are looking to axe tens of thousands of jobs from the Pentagon’s 900,000-person civilian workforce via voluntary resignations and early retirements.
—Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 6 May 2025
The White House on Friday released a budget blueprint that signals major shake-ups at NASA, as part of an effort to axe $163 billion in federal spending.
—Denise Chow, NBC news, 2 May 2025
Olsen previously noted that a potential Brady Bunch revival was axed due to her support of Donald Trump, her opinions on COVID-19 vaccines and the LGBTQ+ community.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Apr. 2025
Related Articles Opinion: Why American democracy and prosperity depend on mathematical literacy
San Jose school district parcel tax continues to trail
Budget cuts heighten concerns for West Contra Costa English learners
Trump won’t axe Head Start.
—Katie Lauer, Mercury News, 7 May 2025
More announcements of a similar nature are expected; in late April and early May (Weeks 17-19), over 25 percent of weekly service-loops have already been axed.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Axe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/axe. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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