pickax

noun

pick·​ax ˈpik-ˌaks How to pronounce pickax (audio)
variants or pickaxe

Examples of pickax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web If you’re tempted to be pleased by the pickax — to regard it as a fine interplay of public art and public life — ruangrupa, an artists’ collective from Indonesia, will gladly disillusion you. New York Times, 9 June 2022 But in August 1974, Scheer unveiled a new/old name and a logo: a bearded cartoon miner holding a pickax in one hand and a basketball in the other. John Branch, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2023 Or from slitting their throats, sticking his pickax in their sternum, or attaching them to a plummeting megaton bomb. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 May 2023 Aatami merely looks at them, points his pickax like the Grim Reaper with his scythe and grunts. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Apr. 2023 And, of course, his pickax. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 24 Apr. 2023 Days before the body of a New Jersey teacher was found in a shallow grave, authorities impounded a car linked to her former partner that had a pickax, a shovel and a bloodstained rope inside it, according to court documents released Wednesday. Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2023 Activists in green overalls used a pickax to dig holes in the road near the farmhouse, while others carried steel girders and concrete to block vehicles. Loveday Morris, Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2023 Surveillance video from the home’s front porch Monday afternoon shows a woman walking up the driveway with a pickax in her hands before swinging the tool into a street-facing window. Salvador Hernandezstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pickax.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pecaxe, alteration of pikois, from Anglo-French picois, from pic pick, from Latin picus woodpecker — more at pie

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pickax was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near pickax

Cite this Entry

“Pickax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pickax. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pickax

noun
pick·​ax ˈpik-ˌaks How to pronounce pickax (audio)

More from Merriam-Webster on pickax

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