axing

verb

present participle of ax
as in sacking
to let go from office, service, or employment the boss will ax anyone who leaks company secrets

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of axing In his July memo, Blume said the company is considering axing a further 50,000 roles globally and closing four factories in Germany. — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 24 July 2026 For the first time since temporarily axing the base model WRX for 2025, Subaru regained traction with its sport compact, with sales jumping 50% from a year ago. — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 4 June 2026 More than a dozen are rumored to be on his shortlist for axing, after several more were voluntarily killed or amended to avoid the gallows. — Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 15 May 2026 Brendan McDermid | Reuters Amazon is axing its Rufus chatbot and making its Alexa assistant the centerpiece of its artificial intelligence shopping strategy. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 13 May 2026 Amazon has been laying off staff en masse this year, axing over 16,000 employees in 2026 so far. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 2 May 2026 The city is also contemplating axing more than 94 vacant jobs. — Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026 The biggest headline in Europe this week was German airline Lufthansa axing 20,000 flights through October. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026 Membership perks are also changing, with the city axing unlimited play time for annual members and removing reserved tee times that were always set aside for several longstanding golf associations in the city. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for axing
  1. sacking
  2. removing
  3. dismissing
  4. firing
  5. retiring
  6. releasing
Verb
  • The museum replaced him with Sasha Suda, hiring her away from the National Gallery of Canada before sacking her following a disastrous rebrand and replacing her with Weiss, a former president of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 29 July 2026
  • But so far, the government has decided not to intervene by sacking him and has backpedalled, allowing Russia to participate.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 23 July 2026
Definition of sacking
Verb
  • Advocates say the strategy encourages more diverse applicants, like first-generation students, by removing barriers to entry and boosting awareness of the often-generous scholarships available at private institutions.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Harris indicated the markets for those players were not good enough to warrant removing them from the current team.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of removing
Verb
  • After dismissing Cora and his staff, the Red Sox have surged back into playoff contention with the trade deadline looming.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • De Vries barely looked at it, dismissing the message as spam or phishing without reading past the first few lines.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 31 July 2026
Definition of dismissing
Verb
  • Four Grucci employees, led by a young crew chief named Alyson, were ending their workday by test-firing one last hand grenade and one last groundburst simulator.
    — Paige Williams, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Moments later, an armed bystander stepped in and began firing at the suspect, according to Koehn.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of firing
Verb
  • Former chief voices his support All of this played out as Kowalski was retiring from the department.
    — Kelsy Mittauer, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Baresi is regarded as an AC Milan icon, having spent his entire 20-year career with the club, winning six Serie A titles and three top European trophies, and captaining the team for 15 seasons before retiring in 1997.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 31 July 2026
Definition of retiring
Verb
  • Soak for 30 minutes to absorb the bath’s therapeutic benefits which include releasing tension, cleansing your skin, and relaxing your body.
    — Rana Good, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Food waste to renewable natural gas Here, a special cocktail of microbes will feed on the slurry, releasing gases, like methane, as a waste product.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of releasing

Browse Nearby Words

axes
axing
axiom
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Cite this Entry

“Axing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/axing. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on axing

Nglish: Translation of axing for Spanish Speakers

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