hatchet

noun

hatch·​et ˈha-chət 

1

: a short-handled ax often with a hammerhead to be used with one hand

2

: tomahawk

Examples of hatchet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Years later, the two had a poolside sit-down at a Los Angeles hotel to bury the hatchet and the two-hour conversation still wasn’t enough to patch things up, Francesa said. —Mark Morales, CNN Money, 29 May 2025

The legislation also takes a hatchet to amortization, which is the depreciation of non-tangible assets often termed goodwill. —Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 22 May 2025

Two weeks after an unprovoked hatchet attack nearly decapitated a man sitting with his wife at a Tucson, Arizona, bus stop, the suspect has been charged with first-degree murder. —Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2025

The men, who’d assembled on the moors hours earlier, were armed with muskets, sticks, hatchets, and heavy blacksmith’s hammers. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hachet, from Anglo-French hachette, diminutive of hache battle-ax — more at hash

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing hatchet

• bury the hatchet
• hatchet face
• hatchet job
• hatchet man
• hatchet work

Rhymes for hatchet

• ratchet

Kids Definition

hatchet

noun

hatch·​et ˈhach-ət 

: a small ax with a short handle

Etymology

Middle English hachet "small ax, hatchet," from early French hachette, literally, "small battle-ax," from hache "battle-ax"; of Germanic origin — related to hash entry 1, hatch entry 4

Medical Definition

hatchet

noun

hatch·​et ˈhach-ət 

: a dental excavator